UFC Fight Night 59 Results: Matches to Make for the Entire Fight Card

Conor McGregor has taken the 145-pound division by storm and is now lined up to challenge featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

With his win over Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59, McGregor improved to 5-0 inside the Octagon. In doing so, the Irishman did enough in the eyes of the UFC brass to be considered the top contender in the 145-pound weight class.

Among others, McGregor surpassed former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in line for a shot at Aldo, who is widely considered to be the greatest featherweight in MMA history.

Now, we know what is next for McGregor, but what about the rest of the UFC Fight Night 59 competitors? Here are the matches to make for Siver and the rest of Sunday's UFC combatants.

Prelim Fighters

USA TODAY Sports

Prelim Winners

Fighter	Matchup
Cathal Pendred	Adam Khaliev
Lorenz Larkin	Patrick Cote vs. Joe Riggs Winner
Chris Wade	Yan Cabral
Paddy Holohan	Joby Sanchez
Johnny Case	Francisco Trinaldo
Charles Rosa	Masio Fullen vs. Alexander Torres Winner
Sean O'Connell	Anthony Perosh
Joby Sanchez	Paddy Holohan

Prelim Losers

Fighter	Matchup
Sean Spencer	Kenny Robertson vs. Sultan Aliev Winner
John Howard	Patrick Cote vs. Joe Riggs Loser
Zhang Lipeng	Jon Tuck
Shane Howell	None (Release)
Frankie Perez	Mairbek Taisumov vs. Anthony Christodoulou Loser
Sean Soriano	None (Release)
Matt Van Buren	Jonathan Wilson
Tateki Matsuda	Yao Zhikui

Norman Parke

Credit: UFC.com

Matchup: Daron Cruickshank vs. Beneil Dariush Loser

At UFC Fight Night 59, Norman Parke ran into the biggest test of his UFC career opposite Gleison Tibau.

Landing five more significant strikes than Tibau, Parke held his own against the veteran, but he still came up short on the scorecards. The Northern Ireland native was on the receiving end of the bigger shots and, more notably, failed on all 10 of his takedown attempts. In post-match comments, Parke was appreciative of the opportunity and congratulated Tibau on the win:

"

Win some u lose some.. I'm very humble in defeat! Well done @GleisonTibauMMA thank you for the opportunity to fight.

— STORMIN NORMAN PARKE (@norman_parke) January 19, 2015"

Being only 28 years old, Parke can learn from this loss and take his game to another level. Look for him to see a step down in competition and attempt to get back on track against an opponent such as the loser of a March contest betweeen Daron Cruickshank and Beneil Dariush.

Gleison Tibau

Credit: UFC.com

Matchup: Rustam Khabilov vs. Adriano Martins Winner

With another close decision win on Sunday, Tibau has extended his winning streak to three bouts.

In his long UFC career, this is now the third time Tibau has won three straight fights inside the Octagon. Right now, only Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes have scored more UFC wins than Tibau, so the Brazilian has really been undervalued. According to MMADecisions.com made MMA history with seven split-decision wins:

"

Gleison Tibau is the first person to fight to 7 split decisions in the UFC.

— MMADecisions.com (@MMADecisions) January 19, 2015"

Since he tied Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture at 16 UFC victories, I'd expect Tibau to be rewarded for his accomplishment. Should No. 15 lightweight contender Rustam Khabilov beat Adriano Martins in February, the Russian would be a good opponent for Tibau.

Ron Stallings

Credit: UFC.com

Matchup: Eddie Gordon vs. Chris Dempsey Loser

Accepting a bout with Uriah Hall on short notice, Ron Stallings had his hands full at UFC Fight Night 59.

The bout got Stallings' foot in the UFC door, but he paid the price with a nasty cut on his left eyebrow. That cut led to a doctor stoppage during the opening round. MMAFighting.com provided a photo of Stallings' cut (NSFW very graphic content):

"

PHOTO: Ron Stallings suffers gruesome cut during UFC Fight Night 59 http://t.co/xowiVvndgc pic.twitter.com/yLhNcWJDhj

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 19, 2015"

I have no doubt Stallings will get another opportunity to compete inside the Octagon. As Stallings will need some time for that cut to heal up, that chance could come against the loser of an April bout between Eddie Gordon and Chris Dempsey.

Uriah Hall

Credit: UFC.com

Matchup: Costas Philippou

As expected, Hall took care of business relatively easily against replacement-opponent Stallings.

Heading into UFC Fight Night 59, Hall had multiple opponents drop out due to injury. Stallings stepped in as a last resort and simply wasn't on Hall's level. Hall expressed appreciation to Stallings for filling in for this matchup, while also telling his original opponent, Philippou, to "get ready":

"

Have a lot of respect for my opponent tonight thanks again @Philippou185UFC get ready !!

— U R I A H H A L L (@UriahHallMMA) January 19, 2015"

Hall's originally scheduled adversary was Costas Philippou. It appears that is a bout Hall still wants, and I see no reason why he shouldn't get it.

Benson Henderson

Credit: UFC.com

Matchup: Gilbert Melendez

Following a loss to Rafael dos Anjos in August, Benson Henderson was in need of a win heading into his rematch with Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 59.

Before the decision was read, having landed 29 more significant strikes than Cowboy, it looked like Henderson had done enough to get back into the win column. However, the decision went the other way, leaving Henderson with two straight losses for the first time in his MMA career.

According to MMA Fighting's Marc Raimondi, the timing is right for Henderson "to move up to welterweight," even suggesting a possible opponent:

"

Now would be the time for Benson Henderson to move up to welterweight and give it a try. How about a fight with someone like Gunnar Nelson?

— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) January 19, 2015"

With his recent struggles, there's a chance Henderson makes a move to 170 pounds. If he does, Dong Hyun Kim or Gunnar Nelson would be interesting opponents. If not, Henderson could meet Gilbert Melendez in a rematch, considering both men were recently submitted by champion Anthony Pettis.

Donald Cerrone

Credit: UFC.com

Matchup: Khabib Nurmagomedov

It wasn't without controversy, but Cerrone avenged two losses and extended his winning streak to seven fights with his victory over Henderson.

Cerrone's recent success appears to have made him one of the top contenders in the lightweight division. At the moment, it looks like the only fighters ahead of him in line for a shot at Pettis are Dos Anjos and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Cerrone described his strategy in getting through this fight (via Raimondi):

"

Donald Cerrone: "I had one good kick in me, because I was banged up from the Jury fight, so I only had one good kick and I was saving it."

— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) January 19, 2015"

With Dos Anjos scheduled to challenge Pettis, Cerrone should meet Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title-shot eliminator in the coming months.

Dennis Siver

Credit: UFC.com

Matchup: Rony Jason

Nobody gave Siver much chance at winning heading into his UFC Fight Night 59 main event bout with McGregor, and it turned out that was for good reason.

Siver had no answer for the Irishman's reach and speed. Less than two minutes into the second round, Siver was dropped and covered up until referee Herb Dean stepped in. Siver commented that McGregor can back up what he says (via Fox Sports: UFC):

"

.@DennisSiver says that @TheNotoriousMMA "proved he can do more than talk...he has a good eye for distance." #UFCBoston

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 19, 2015"

Having only beaten Charles Rosa since December 2012, Siver should see a big step down in competition. I see him being matched up against an unranked featherweight like Rony Jason.

Conor McGregor

Credit: UFC.com

Matchup: Jose Aldo

McGregor improved to 5-0 on Sunday, and that will be enough for him to earn a shot at Aldo.

The Irishman has had a meteoric rise through the featherweight ranks. While he hasn't been tested by a wrestler, it's hard to say he doesn't really deserve a spot in a championship bout when one considers what he did to No. 6 contender Dustin Poirier. SportsCenter highlighted the win and upcoming bout with Aldo:

"

Conor McGregor beats Dennis Siver by 2nd-round TKO in Boston. He'll fight Jose Aldo next for UFC featherweight belt. pic.twitter.com/4i3k8zDYWK

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 19, 2015"

At the moment, as announced by UFC president Dana White at the UFC Fight Night 59 post-fight press conference, it appears Aldo and McGregor will meet during May in Las Vegas.

Statistics via UFC.com.