Fight Forecast: Matches to make after UFC 198

After UFC 198, theScore's Alexander K. Lee picks which matchups should be made for the night's biggest winners, including a trio of potential title fights.

Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem

Stipe Miocic is about to find out how hard it is to keep the UFC heavyweight title.

The big boy belt changed hands again Saturday when Miocic flattened Fabricio Werdum in the first round of the UFC 198 main event. He doesn't have to look far for his first challenger as Dutch kickboxing specialist Alistair Overeem is waiting in the wings.

Overeem has punched his ticket to a championship bout with four straight wins. He knocked off fellow contenders Andrei Arlovski and Junior dos Santos in his last two bouts, and he's finally in position to vie for a UFC title.

Ronaldo Souza vs. Luke Rockhold-Chris Weidman winner

The window seemed to close on Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza's championship hopes when he dropped a split decision to Yoel Romero last December. But with Romero serving a six-month drug suspension, Souza took care of business against Vitor Belfort to reclaim his status as a legitimate contender.

Prior to the Romero loss, Jacare won eight straight fights with first-round finishes of Yushin Okami, Derek Brunson, and Gegard Mousasi. Belfort was his most notable opponent in terms of name recognition and Souza absolutely demolished him.

Luke Rockhold defends the middleweight title against Chris Weidman at UFC 199 on June 4. The winner has to deal with Jacare.

Cris Cyborg vs. Holly Holm

Booking Cris Cyborg is not going to be easy for the UFC's matchmakers. The Brazilian is a star at 145 pounds, a division that does not currently exist for women in the organization.

Her debut was made possible by Leslie Smith agreeing to go up in weight and be executed at UFC 198, but it's unclear where Cyborg goes from there.

Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate have both expressed an interest in fighting Cyborg, though the weight differential is a persistent road block in creating such a matchup. Theoretically, they would have the leverage in any negotiations due to Rousey's drawing power and Tate holding the women's bantamweight belt.

That leaves Holly Holm as the odd woman out. She actually declined to be Cyborg's first opponent in the hopes of getting a title rematch with Tate, but now that that is off the table for the near future she has to look at the next best option and that's a fight with Cyborg.

First, Holm has to get past Valentina Shevchenko in July. Barring a massive upset, Cyborg could soon find herself in a matchup worthy of a UFC main event.

Demian Maia vs. Robbie Lawler

Demian Maia's last crack at a world title was six years ago. At 38, it's time for him to complete his welterweight renaissance by taking on divisional champion Robbie Lawler.

Even ignoring the fact that Maia's submission of Matt Brown gives him more UFC victories than anyone not named Georges St-Pierre, Matt Hughes, or Michael Bisping, it's the stylistic problem he would create for Lawler that is so intriguing.

As impressive as Lawler has been in his second stint with the UFC, he has yet to face an elite grappler. Maia is widely regarded as the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner to ever step foot in the Octagon, so to say that he is a legitimate threat to submit Lawler is an understatement.

Fans may love seeing Lawler go toe-to-toe with other strikers, but he would truly cement his legacy with a win over the crafty Maia.