The Vanquished: What’s Next for the UFC Fight Night 163 Losers?

Zabit Magomedsharipov on Saturday strengthened his case for a shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Calvin Kattar in the UFC Fight Night 163 headliner at CSKA Arena in Moscow. The Dagestan native has won six fights in a row since joining the promotion in 2017.

Meanwhile, Alexander Volkov comfortably outpointed Greg Hardy in the heavyweight co-main event; Danny Roberts returned to the win column with an emphatic knockout of Zelim Imadaev; Ed Herman defied Father Time to defeat Khadis Ibragimov by unanimous decision; Anthony Rocco Martin outpointed Ramazan Emeev across three rounds; and Shamil Gamzatov remained undefeated with a contentious split decision over Klidson Abreu.

What becomes of the UFC Fight Night 163 losers? A few ideas:

Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett: There was no doubt that Kattar lost to Magomedsharipov, but he certainly proved to be the toughest task yet for the 28-year-old former Absolute Championship Berkut titleholder. Kattar did a solid job stuffing Magomedsharipov’s takedown and clinch attempts and even managed to hurt him in the third round. His stock should improve following the defeat. An assignment that makes sense for him? The No. 10-ranked Josh Emmett, who is currently on a two-fight winning streak.

Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro: Hardy performed better than most expected against Volkov but ultimately showed that he was not ready for a Top 10 heavyweight just yet. The former NFL star is still just eight fights into his mixed martial arts career, so for now, it makes sense for him to face opposition with similar experience. Why not book him against De Castro, a Dana White’s Contender Series alum who is 6-0 and coming off a huge knockout win over Justin Tafa at UFC 243?

Zelim Imadaev vs. Rostem Akman: Imadaev was knocked out by Roberts in the second round of their welterweight showcase. It drops him to 0-2 with the promotion after he started his pro career with eight straight victories. The situation does not look promising for the Russian’s future prospects, especially if he loses three in a row. A loser-leaves-town matchup with Akman -- also 0-2 with the promotion -- seems logical.

Khadis Ibragimov vs. Darko Stosic: Ibragimov did not put forth his best effort in Moscow, as he gassed early on his way to a unanimous decision defeat to the 39-year-old Herman. Like Imadaev, he is now 0-2 under the UFC banner. Pair him with Stosic, who is 1-2 in the UFC and finds himself on the rebound following a unanimous decision defeat to Kennedy Nzechukwu.

Ramazan Emeev vs. Lyman Good: Emeev suffered his first defeat in the UFC -- it was his first as a professional since 2014 -- when he was outpointed by Martin. He did have his moments but ultimately took too much damage on the feet and also had to defend a number of submission attempts. A matchup with Good, fresh off a TKO win over Chance Recountre at UFC 244, should be next in line for the Russian.

Klidson Abreu vs. Tyson Pedro: Abreu may have felt wronged by not getting the decision over Gamzatov, as it dropped his UFC record at 1-2. Match him with Pedro, who has not competed since he suffered a TKO loss to Maurico Rua in December.