What's next for UFC 248 winners?

UFC 248 has come and gone.

Israel Adesanya defended his middleweight title against Yoel Romero in Saturday's headliner, scoring a unanimous decision victory.

Also on the card in Las Vegas, strawweight champion Zhang Weili edged out Joanna Jedrzejczyk in an instant classic. Beneil Dariush, meanwhile, brutally knocked out Drakkar Klose, and Neil Magny beat Li Jingliang by unanimous decision.

Here's what should come next for the notable winners at UFC 248.

Israel Adesanya

Defeated: Yoel Romero by unanimous decision
Should fight: Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa was supposed to get the next title shot after defeating Romero in August, but a biceps surgery ended up sidelining "The Eraser" for several months.

Costa was recently cleared to compete, so he's the logical next opponent for Adesanya, who expressed interest in the fight following his lackluster victory over Romero. Costa spoke at Saturday night's postfight press conference and called Adesanya the "most shameful champion" in the UFC. He also said the Romero fight was "horrible," and placed the blame on Adesanya.

It's obvious there's real beef between Adesanya and Costa. They don't like each other, which will probably make both extremely aggressive if they do meet in the cage. Costa is one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport, and Adesanya has finishing ability, too.

The two have spoken about fighting each other as far back as July 2018, when they were still prospects in the division. With Adesanya now the champion and Costa the No. 2 contender, this is one of the biggest fights the promotion can stage.

Zhang Weili

Defeated: Joanna Jedrzejczyk by split decision
Should fight: Rose Namajunas or Tatiana Suarez

There's no reason to doubt Zhang can be a longtime champion after her first title defense against Jedrzejczyk.

The Chinese fighter had a lot of question marks surrounding her ahead of Saturday's bout. She'd never gone five rounds and was facing someone with plenty of experience in the championship frames.

But Zhang proved she absolutely deserves to be at the top of the 115-pound division with an epic performance at UFC 248. Moving forward, she'll try to create a legacy as one of the best women's fighters ever.

Such a quest should start with a fight against ex-champ Rose Namajunas if "Thug" is victorious in her rematch against Jessica Andrade in April. Namajunas lost the belt to Andrade last year. Andrade then dropped it to Zhang during her first title defense, which lasted 42 seconds.

Zhang shouldn't fight Andrade again so soon, even if the Brazilian beats Namajunas a second time; their first fight was simply too lopsided.

If Namajunas fails to earn the next title shot, the promotion could opt to give it to rising star Tatiana Suarez. "The Ultimate Fighter 23" winner isn't my front-runner, though. Her most recent win over Nina Ansaroff was close, and Suarez has been dealing with lingering neck issues since that fight.

Beneil Dariush

Defeated: Drakkar Klose by second-round knockout
Should fight: Gregor Gillespie

Dariush has momentum following his incredible win over Klose, and he should be given an opportunity to return to the lightweight rankings.

The Kings MMA product was a top contender at 155 pounds several years ago but fell off after losing a few fights. He's quietly bounced back, however, recording four straight wins. I'd like to see him take on Gregor Gillespie.

Gillespie is coming off a brutal knockout loss to Kevin Lee, but "The Gift" was undefeated prior to that and has six wins in the UFC. He's ranked No. 12 in the division.

A win for Dariush would move him back into the crop of lightweight contenders. Defeating "Benny" would be a nice rebound for Gillespie, too, allowing him to add a solid name to his resume and continue his trek to the top of the weight class.

Neil Magny

Defeated: Li Jingliang by unanimous decision
Should fight: Michael Chiesa

Magny looked like he hadn't lost a step when he returned to action for the first time since November 2018, dominating rising contender Li at UFC 248 for his first victory in 22 months.

After the fight, the Elevation Fight Team product called out Michael Chiesa, who quickly agreed to the matchup via Twitter. With both expressing interest in the fight, there's no reason not to book it.

Chiesa, the No. 7 welterweight, is coming off an impressive win over former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. But he's still relatively far behind in the 170-pound title hunt. While he lets the top of the weight class settle itself out a bit more, Chiesa can try to add a big name to his resume in Magny.

For Magny, beating Chiesa would be huge - it would catapult him back into the welterweight rankings and prove he's still a force to be reckoned with in the division.