What's next for UFC 251 winners?

Another UFC event is in the books.

Kamaru Usman dominated Jorge Masvidal to earn a unanimous decision win and retain his welterweight title in Saturday's main event. Two other title fights took place, with one champion keeping his belt in a rematch, and a contender taking the throne for the first time.

Here's what should come next for the notable winners at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Kamaru Usman

Defeated: Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision
Should fight: Gilbert Burns

There are a few options for Usman's next title defense, but a bout against Burns stands out.

Usman, of course, was scheduled to face Burns at UFC 251 before the Brazilian tested positive for the coronavirus, and Masvidal replaced him on less than a week's notice.

The initial booking of Usman-Burns in June disappointed some fans who wanted to see Masvidal get the next shot. With that fight out of the way, there's no reason to deny "Durinho" a crack at UFC gold once he's healthy.

Burns has produced a heck of a 2020 so far, picking up a one-sided win over former champ Tyron Woodley and a first-round knockout of ex-title challenger Demian Maia. He's ranked No. 1 in the division for a reason, and he'd be an intriguing opponent for Usman, who seems unstoppable.

Burns is an expert grappler, and his striking has come a long way since joining the promotion in 2014. Usman wouldn't be as successful taking Burns down as he was against Masvidal, so it would likely be a competitive stand-up affair.

Until recently, Usman and Burns were teammates at Sanford MMA in Florida, and they trained together for several years. They're very familiar with each other, which adds another wrinkle to this potential title bout.

Alexander Volkanovski

Defeated: Max Holloway by split decision
Should fight: Chan Sung Jung

With Volkanovski handing Holloway his second straight defeat, there's no clear-cut No. 1 contender at 145 pounds. But the man most deserving of a title shot is Jung, better known as "The Korean Zombie."

Jung is coming off a devastating TKO of former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar last December in the UFC Busan main event. Prior to that, he stopped then-rising contender Renato Moicano in less than a minute. Based on those two results alone, no one would complain if the UFC gives the 33-year-old an opportunity to take the crown against Volkanovski.

The champion sounded keen to get back into the Octagon soon, but it also wouldn't hurt if he sits out for a bit and waits for some key matchups in the featherweight division to play out. Zabit Magomedsharipov and Yair Rodriguez are rumored to be in talks to fight later this year, and the winner easily could challenge for the belt, too.

Ultimately, though, the always entertaining Jung should be stepping in against Volkanovski next if the Australian titleholder wants to return to action in a matter of months. For what it's worth, Jung wasn't impressed with Volkanovski's split-decision win on Saturday.

Petr Yan

Defeated: Jose Aldo by fifth-round TKO
Should fight: Aljamain Sterling

Despite what UFC president Dana White may say (or not say), there's one fight - and one fight only - to make at the top of the bantamweight division.

Yan needs to make his first title defense against the No. 2-ranked Sterling, who's more than deserving of the opportunity at this point, and he probably should've received a title shot far sooner. If any other fight is booked, there's something seriously wrong with the UFC and how it goes about its matchmaking.

Sterling should've been in Aldo's position at UFC 251 after winning five straight fights. The former featherweight champion, meanwhile, entered the vacant title bout with an 0-1 bantamweight record.

Not to take anything away from Yan, because he earned a title shot too, but the Russian won't quite feel like the undisputed king of the bantamweights until he faces off with "Funk Master." Stylistically, it'd be an awesome fight and a true No. 1 versus No. 2 battle - which has become a bit rare these days.

Rose Namajunas

Defeated: Jessica Andrade by split decision
Should fight: Zhang Weili

In a battle of former strawweight champions, Namajunas put to rest the debate about who's the better fighter between her and Andrade on Saturday, outstriking the Brazilian in the "Fight of the Night." Namajunas successfully avenged her May 2019 loss to Andrade, who won their first bout via slam knockout in the second round.

Andrade and Namajunas were the UFC's two highest-ranked 115-pound fighters behind champion Zhang heading into the contest, so it only makes sense for "Thug" to get another title shot.

Namajunas is 4-1 in her past five bouts, and she's now avenged one of her three Octagon defeats. Besides Tatiana Suarez, who's still recovering from a lingering injury, there's no one close to Namajunas in the title picture.

Zhang is coming off a "Fight of the Year" candidate resulting from her clash with former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk, which was the Chinese athlete's first title defense after beating Andrade for the strap last summer. She recently expressed interest in fighting Namajunas, and there's no doubt the 28-year-old would want to get her belt back.