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What's next for Jack Hermansson, Jacare Souza and other UFC Fort Lauderdale fighters?

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Hermansson delivers 'brilliant performance' vs. Souza (1:31)

Jon Anik and Dominick Cruz break down Jack Hermansson's win vs. Jacare Souza. For more UFC action, go to plus.espn.com/ufc. (1:31)

It was a good weekend for Norwegian mixed martial arts.

Middleweight Jack Hermansson, of Oslo, Norway, scored the biggest win of his career Saturday, as he outpointed Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza at UFC Fight Night in Sunrise, Florida. Hermansson took the five-round bout on short notice after Souza's original opponent, Yoel Romero, withdrew.

What's next for the 185-pound division's newest contender? Here's ESPN's take.

Jack Hermansson, middleweight

Result: Defeated Ronaldo Souza via decision

Next: Yoel Romero

Going into 2019, no one was pegging Hermansson as their breakout candidate -- but he has become just that. A 49-second submission of David Branch in March was followed by a convincing, 25-minute victory over Souza in April.

Many would still consider Hermansson a long shot to win a UFC belt, but he has earned the right to keep this going. Let's see how far he can take it. A matchup against Romero, who has lost only to undisputed champion Robert Whittaker, would be a clear-cut No. 1 contender bout.

Ronaldo Souza, middleweight

Result: Lost to Jack Hermansson via decision

Next: Retirement

To be clear, if Souza wishes to continue fighting, he has plenty left. On any given night, he can compete with any middleweight in the world, and maybe that alone is reason enough to keep fighting. But, personally, I don't see any truly compelling reason for him to keep going.

Stranger things have happened for sure, but it's hard to see Souza ever fighting for a UFC championship following this loss. The division's immediate future involves Whittaker facing Israel Adesanya, at a date to be determined. Considering Souza just lost his place in line, when is the soonest he could reasonably expect to fight for a title? A year? Eighteen months? He turns 40 in December.

Fighting for a UFC belt is the only thing Souza has yet to accomplish in this sport, and although it's not out of the question that could still happen, asking him to get back in line at this point in his career ... man. If you still badly, badly want it, Jacare, go for it. It's a shame it hasn't happened for you already. But your legacy is set without it.

Greg Hardy, heavyweight

Result: Defeated Dmitrii Smoliakov via first-round TKO

Next: Juan Adams

At times, it appears as if the only reason Adams even has a social media account is to constantly berate Hardy. The 27-year-old has made it very clear he does not like Hardy and is rooting against him. He also doesn't seem to think much of Hardy as a fighter.

Adams already has a fight lined up -- it's next weekend at UFC Fight Night in Ottawa. He's scheduled to face Arjan Bhullar, and if he wins, you can bet he'll call out Hardy. And stylistically, I like the idea. Adams has been fighting professionally since only 2017. He's 4-0, tips the scales at a heavyweight-limit 265 pounds and has legitimate knockout ability.

Mike Perry, welterweight

Result: Defeated Alex Oliveira via decision

Next: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

After beating Oliveira, Perry called out his old pal Darren Till -- and that's a fight a lot of people would love to see, but I don't think Till is a welterweight anymore. I believe he will (and should) move up to 185 pounds in his next bout.

Dos Santos is not a big name at welterweight, but he has won seven fights in a row. He has recorded back-to-back-to-back highlight-reel finishes, and he has won Fight of the Night bonuses three times in his UFC career. This would be an exciting matchup. It would also give Perry a legitimate contender, and dos Santos a chance to step into the spotlight more.

Cory Sandhagen, bantamweight

Result: Defeated John Lineker via split decision

Next: Rob Font

In a shallower division, there's a chance Sandhagen would be rushed into title contention too quickly. But the good thing about bantamweight right now: It's deep. Even coming off a win against the likes of Lineker, a legitimate top-10 bantamweight, there's no need to rush Sandhagen into the murderer's row of guys such as Cody Garbrandt, Dominick Cruz, Raphael Assuncao, etc.

Font, 31, is a well-rounded vet whose only UFC losses have come against elite competition in Lineker, Pedro Munhoz and Assuncao.