UFC 128 Results: What's Next for the Winners?

On Saturday night, 11 men happily left the Prudential Center, and 11 men left the Octagon with one more win on their records.

Erik Koch won via KO. 

Nick Catone won via unanimous decision.

Joseph Benavidez won via unanimous decision.

Gleison Tibau won via split decision.

Mike Pyle won via unanimous decision.

Edson Barboza won via unanimous decision.

Luiz Cane won via TKO.

Brendan Schaub won via TKO.

Nate Marquardt won via unanimous decision.

Jim Miller won via TKO.

Urijah Faber won via unanimous decision.

Jon Jones won via TKO.

It is never too early to start speculation for their next fights, so here are some early guesses on what's next for the winners at UFC 128.

Erik Koch

In the first fight of the night, Erik Koch knocked out Raphael Assuncao midway through the first round.

Next for Koch could be a fight against the man he replaced, Manny Gamburyan.

Nick Catone

Nick Catone defeated Constantinos Philipou via unanimous decision.

Up next for Catone will probably be another low-level fight in the middleweight division.

Joseph Benavidez

Joseph Benavidez defeated Ian Loveland via unanimous decision.

Benavidez is the No. 2 bantamweight fighter in the world, and is also in a sticky situation.

Everyone wants to see Urijah Faber coach against Dominick Cruz on The Ultimate Fighter, which would leave Benavidez without a truly viable opponent. 

Maybe next, he could take on the winner of Demetrious Johnson vs. Renan Barao or the winner of Kid Yamamoto and Chris Cariaso.

Gleison Tibau

Gleison Tibau defeated Kurt Pellegrino via split decision.

Tibau has never really been more than a gatekeeper in the UFC, and has never put together more than three wins in a row.

I think a fight between Tibau and Edson Barboza is a possibility.

Mike Pyle

Mike Pyle defeated Ricardo Almeida via unanimous decision.

Pyle is now on a three-fight winning streak and may want a step-up in competition.

However, I think his next fight will be against the winner of Johny Hendricks and TJ Waldburger at UFC Fight Night: Seattle.

Edson Barboza

Edson Barboza won a unanimous decision over Anthony Njokuani.

As I said earlier, I think a fight between Barboza and Tibau is a good option.

Luiz Cane

Luiz Cane defeated Eliot Marshall via TKO in the first round.

Cane was very impressive, winning at just 2:15 in the first round.

Perhaps a fight against the loser of Vladimir Matyushenko and Jason Brilz is next for Cane.

Brendan Schaub

Brendan Schaub was impressive, knocking out (and possibly ending the career of) Mirko Cro Cop.

Schaub is now 8-1 in his MMA career, and deserves a step-up in competition.

Maybe the winner of Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo could be next.

Nate Marquardt

Nate Marquardt did what he was expected to do and he defeated Dan Miller.

Marquardt won a unanimous decision, and it was not all that surprising.

Nate was originally supposed to fight Yoshihiro Akiyama, so maybe that will end up happening next.

Jim Miller

Jim Miller made another stride towards a title shot when he TKO'd Kamal Shalorus.

Miller has torn through the lightweight division, and should be only one or two wins away from his shot.

Hopefully his next fight can be a No. 1 contender fight. Unfortunately, the winner of Guida-Pettis has the next shot, so maybe Miller can fight the winner of Dennis Siver and Matt Wiman.

Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber also did what was expected of him, and he won a unanimous decision over Eddie Wineland.

Up next for Faber?

Hopefully a coaching spot on season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter against UFC Bantamweight Champion, Dominick Cruz.

Jon Jones

Jon Jones won the title. He TKO'd the legend, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and became the youngest champion in UFC history.

Up next for Jones will be a battle with the man he replaced—a former training partner, and someone he described as a brother—Rashad Evans.

It should be a great fight. Possibly a headliner for UFC 132 or 133.

UFC 128: Shogun Rua vs. Jon Jones: Results, News and More