Sean Shelby's Shoes: What's next for Lyoto Machida and UFC Fight Night 125's other winning fighters?

The UFC debut in Belem, Para, Brazil on Saturday went largely according to plan for athletes from the country. Brazilian fighters won four of the six fights on the UFC Fight Night 125 main card, which aired on FS1 from Mangueirinho Gymnasium.

Hometown hero Lyoto Machida (23-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) closed the show in a positive manner when he rebounded from a tough three-fight losing skid to defeat up-and-coming middleweight Eryk Anders (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) by split decision in their main-event showdown.

Prior to “The Dragon,” Valentina Shevchenko (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) produced a lopsided beatdown, Michel Prazeres (24-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), Timothy Johnson (12-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) and Douglas Silva de Andrade (25-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) picked up wins on the scorecards, while Thiago “Marreta” Santos (17-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) produced another knockout in the “Fight of the Night”

After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next. And with another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC Fight Night 125’s winning fighters.

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Thiago “Marreta” Santos

Brad Tavares

Should fight: Brad Tavares
Why they should fight: Santos proved yet again he’s one to be taken seriously in the middleweight division when he extended his winning streak to four with an impressive finish of Anthony Smith.

“Marreta” has recorded eight knockouts in his UFC career, which is good for a tie with Anderson Silva for most in 185-pound history. His second-round TKO of Smith was another solid performance, and showed the Brazilian is in need of a step up.

Santos called his shot and asked for a top-six opponent in his next fight. He may not get his wish, but anything short of someone ranked would be an injustice. Tavares (16-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC) has been a middleweight mainstay in the UFC for years, and with a three-fight winning streak of his own, would likely try to use his workmanlike style to shut down the power of Santos.

Doulas Silva de Andrade

Russell Doane

Should fight: Russell Doane
Why they should fight: De Andrade picked up the most notable win of his young career when he outworked a game Marlon Vera for three rounds to take a unanimous decision and add to his impressive record.

De Andrade has won 25 of his 27 fights. His lone blemishes have come under the UFC banner, but in all his fights he’s shown flashes of a fighter who can go places in the UFC bantamweight division.

Beating Vera is a good start toward making a run, and trying to build off that by fighting a someone like Doane (15-7 MMA, 3-4 UFC) would be a natural progression forward for the Brazilian.

Timothy Johnson

Justin Willis

Should fight: Justin Willis
Why they should fight: It was the most forgettable fight on the main card, but Johnson did what was necessary to get his hand raised when he wore down and topped previously unbeaten Marcelo Golm on the scorecards.

Johnson continued his win-one, lose-one trend in his UFC career when he rebounded from a loss in his previous outing to take a unanimous decision over Golm. It was a rather classic performance from Johnson, but one that’s not going to turn many heads.

Despite the lack of entertainment, Johnson is a solid member of the heavyweight division who is going to separate the pretenders from the contenders. There’s a lot of hype around Willis (6-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) following two solid wins to kick off his UFC career. If “Big Pretty” could get past Johnson, he would be prove even more legit.

Michel Prazeres

Randy Brown

Should fight: Randy Brown
Why they should fight: After missing weight yet agains for a lightweight matchup, Prazeres will be forced up to welterweight going forward, and rightfully so.

Prazeres came in way overweight for his matchup with Desmond Green, but that didn’t stop him from getting the unanimous decision win. “Trator” has won six consecutive fights overall, but his repeatedly inability to weigh in properly disturbs his ability to advance up the rankings.

Now, Prazeres will have to make a fresh start at 170 pounds. He’s going to give up some of the advantages he would have at lightweight, and that will certainly make wins more difficult to come by. Nevertheless, Prazeres has some good skills on his side, and it would be interesting to see how they translate against someone physically imposing for the weight, such as Brown (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC).

Valentina Shevchenko

Nicco Montano

Should fight: Nicco Montano
Why they should fight: There’s such a thing as a statement victory – then there’s whatever Shevchenko did in her utter dismantling of UFC newcomer Priscila Cachoeira.

Shevchenko made a successful flyweight debut when she crushed Cachoeira en route to a second-round submission. Controversy about the stoppage aside, “Bullet” looked brilliant after changing weight classes following an unsuccessful bantamweight title bid against Amanda Nunes at UFC 215 in September.

There’s only one option for Shevchenko going forward, and that’s a title showdown with 125-pound queen Montano (4-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC). After capturing UFC gold in an unlikely run to win “The Ultimate Fighter 26,” Montano will get a serious test in her first title defense. Now it’s just a matter of getting her healthy and in the octagon with Shevchenko.

Lyoto Machida

Should fight: Michael Bisping
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Machida should fight Bisping (30-9 MMA, 20-9 UFC) next.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 125, check out the UFC Events section of the site.