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(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for UFC 217’s losing fighters?)

The UFC landscape shifted on Saturday with UFC 217, which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, and featured a record-setting three title changes on the pay-per-view main card, which followed prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

In the main event, former longtime UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC) made history by becoming the organization’s fourth two-division titleholder, winning the middleweight crown from Michael Bisping (30-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) courtesy of a third-round technical submission.

Prior to St-Pierre’s comeback performance, T.J. Dillashaw (15-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) also regained UFC gold when he took out former teammate and training partner Cody Garbrandt (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) for the bantamweight strap. And in a third title change, Rose Namajunas (7-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) became the new UFC strawweight champ when she halted the momentum of Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) with a first-round knockout.

Other winners from the main card included two-time UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson (14-2-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) and undefeated middleweight prospect Paulo Costa (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC).

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 217’s winning fighters.

* * * *

Paulo Costa

Brad Tavares

Should fight: Brad Tavares
Why they should fight: Rising middleweight prospect Costa picked up a monumental victory for his young career when he defeated former champion Johny Hendricks by second-round TKO.

Costa had not faced anyone with Hendricks’ credentials prior to the bout, but the Brazilian handled his business in impressive fashion, and now he becomes a new contender worth following at 185 pounds.

Considering his quick rise through three UFC fights, seeing Costa get another notable step up in competition would be far from surprising. No one has been able to stop him so far, but Tavares (16-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC) has proven to be one of the most competitive and durable fighters in the weight class since his promotional debut in 2010.

Tavares has fought and beaten some of the best the division has to offer in his UFC career. He’s riding a three-fight winning streak with victories over some solid names, and he’d provide Costa a stern test that, at this point, would likely mean even more than a win over a slumping Hendricks.

Stephen Thompson

Darren Till

Should fight: Darren Till
Why they should fight: After two failed title bids and nearly 17 months without a win, Thompson sent a stern reminder that he’s a dangerous player in the welterweight division when he took out one of the weight class’ most dangerous contenders in Jorge Masvidal.

“Wonderboy” got back on track with a unanimous-decision victory. The performance helped him regain some of the status he lost in his underwhelming title fight with champ Tyron Woodley at UFC 209 in March, but the reality is Thompson is still winless in two fights against the current champ and is unlikely to get another crack at the gold unless the belt changes hands.

Plenty of intriguing matchups are available to help Thompson start the build toward an irrefutable case for a third UFC title shot. The one that stands out most, however, is against streaking Till (15-0-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC), who recently earned a main-event victory over Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 118 this past month.

Rose Namajunas

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Should fight: Jedrzejczyk
Why they should fight: There isn’t much of an explanation needed for why Namajunas should have an immediate rematch with Jedrzejczyk following her title-winning upset.

Namajunas’ shocking first-round knockout victory is easily the biggest upset in the brief history of the 115-pound division. She handed the Polish fighter her first career loss, and given Jedrzejczyk’s previous dominance leading up to the fight, it only makes sense to run it back, which has been a precedent for longtime champions.

T.J. Dillashaw

Should fight: Demetrious Johnson
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Dillashaw should drop to flyweight to fight champion Johnson (27-2-1 MMA, 15-1-1 UFC) next.

Georges St-Pierre

Should fight: Robert Whittaker
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why St-Pierre should meet interim 185-pound champ Whittaker (19-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in a title-unification bout next.

For complete coverage of UFC 217, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

Filed under: Featured, News, UFC, Videos