What's next for UFC 249 winners?

UFC 249 has come and gone, with Justin Gaethje finishing Tony Ferguson via fifth-round TKO in Saturday's headliner to capture the interim lightweight title.

Bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo also finished Dominick Cruz to retain his title for the first time, and then he announced his sudden retirement after the contest. Francis Ngannou, meanwhile, brutally knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a pivotal heavyweight bout, and featherweight Calvin Kattar stopped Jeremy Stephens.

Here's what should come next for the notable winners at UFC 249 in Jacksonville.

Justin Gaethje

Defeated: Tony Ferguson by fifth-round TKO
Should fight: Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC president Dana White confirmed prior to the event that the winner of Ferguson-Gaethje would be guaranteed to meet Nurmagomedov for the undisputed lightweight title later in 2020. And after the fight, there's no reason not to move forward with that plan.

Gaethje's upset victory made him the clear No. 1 contender at 155 pounds. "The Highlight" put on a masterful performance against Ferguson for his fourth straight win, a streak that also includes knockouts of Donald Cerrone and Edson Barboza. This was easily his biggest career victory.

It's an unfortunate loss for Ferguson, whose 12-fight winning streak was snapped Saturday, because he should've received a crack at the title long ago. But MMA is an unforgiving sport, and now Gaethje will get the next opportunity to dethrone the undefeated Nurmagomedov.

Henry Cejudo

Defeated: Dominick Cruz
Should fight: Nobody

Cejudo further cemented himself as one of the best fighters on the planet with his stoppage victory over Cruz, a former UFC champion and arguably the greatest bantamweight ever.

But the 33-year-old titleholder made a shocking announcement after the fight, revealing he's retiring from MMA. He's one of the few fighters to walk away while on top.

Some people were skeptical of Cejudo's sudden retirement, chalking it up to negotiation tactics. But he did sound relatively genuine. The Arizona resident cited wanting to start a family as one of the reasons he's hanging up his gloves.

Cejudo left the door open for a return if the promotion offers him what he believes he's worth. Otherwise, "Triple C" made his final trip to the Octagon this past weekend, and two other fighters will clash for the vacant belt later this year.

Francis Ngannou

Defeated: Jairzinho Rozenstruik by first-round knockout
Should fight: Winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier 3

Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is expected to complete a trilogy with Daniel Cormier later this year, meaning Ngannou will be waiting a while if he wants his next bout to be for the title. But after stopping Rozenstruik in 20 seconds, the 33-year-old said he's willing to hang tight, and there's no question he deserves a second title shot.

"The Predator" has won four straight fights, and those matchups have lasted a total of 2:42. He's finished a rising contender in Curtis Blaydes, two former champs in Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, and now the 2019 newcomer of the year in Rozenstruik.

His current streak comes after a dud of a two-fight skid in 2018, including a title fight against Miocic in which Ngannou was exposed on the ground for five rounds. Many people counted Ngannou out after that. But since then, he's continuously performed like one of the UFC's best heavyweights, and certainly the most dangerous and scariest.

Ngannou needs to fight the winner of Miocic-Cormier 3 as soon as possible.

Anthony Pettis

Defeated: Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision
Should fight: Robbie Lawler

It sounds like Pettis, the former UFC lightweight champion, is staying at welterweight following his rebound victory over "Cowboy." In that case, he should take on former 170-pound titleholder Lawler next.

"Showtime" entered the Cerrone rematch riding a two-fight skid after a loss to Nate Diaz at 170 pounds and a submission defeat to Diego Ferreira at 155 pounds. He needed to return to the winning column to remain relevant, and this triumph gives him the chance to become a contender again.

However, it's still evident Pettis' career is on a downward trajectory. He'd need to win a couple more bouts in a row to convince me otherwise, and Pettis hasn't done that since his championship days in 2014.

So it wouldn't be wise to immediately feed Pettis to the wolves at welterweight. Instead, the best move is to pair him with another exciting fighter who's past his prime, and Lawler fits the bill.

Calvin Kattar

Defeated: Jeremy Stephens by second-round knockout
Should fight: Yair Rodriguez

Kattar's dominance over Stephens brings him that much closer to a featherweight title shot. However, the division is stacked, and "The Boston Finisher" needs at least one more big win before getting his first crack at UFC gold.

Fighting Rodriguez makes sense, because "Pantera" is in a similar spot. He's also rising in the 145-pound division, but multiple fighters sit ahead of him in the title picture, including ex-champ Max Holloway and Chan Sung Jung. Rodriguez can't think about challenging champion Alexander Volkanovski before notching at least one more victory.

Stylistically, Kattar versus Rodriguez would be a tremendous display of striking, with the former's powerful punches going up against the latter's flashy kicks. And the stakes would be high, so I say book it.