UFC 146 results recap: What's next for Junior dos Santos?

If history tells us anything about Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Heavyweight division, it's that the champions generally don't hold on to their belts for very long.

Junior dos Santos was intent on not following in those notorious footsteps, and he was able to avoid the pitfall by beating up Frank Mir for a little over a round en route to finishing him by way of technical knockout.

In one fell swoop, the Brazilian was able to restore the honor of his mentor, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, as well as cement the fact that he's planning on being the champion for some time to come.

His stand up looked as crisp as ever. His takedown defense proved good enough to keep the fight where he wanted it to be. He keeps getting better, and that's not good for the rest of the division.

So what does the future hold for the rapidly rising star we've come to call "Cigano?" We'll talk that and more after the jump:

It would be nice to let dos Santos savor his victory for a minute, but the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) just can't sit still for that long. UFC 146 is over and we're on to the next one.

There a few options for who dos Santos could end up fighting next. A lot of fans would like to see him take on Alistair Overeem, the man he was originally supposed to fight last night. However, that fight can't happen for another nine months, at the earliest, due to "The Reem's" currently ongoing suspension.

It's a fight that might happen eventually, but it's very unlikely that it will happen next.

Daniel Cormier would make for a very intriguing opponent. No one has been able to really take dos Santos down in his career. "DC" would be an ideal candidate for changing that statistic.

Unfortunately, Showtime has its claws sunk into Cormier and Strikeforce and seem to be intent on forcing him to fight one more time under that umbrella. There's really not a lot to say about that, but it does seem to make a Junior dos Santos vs. Daniel Cormier match up a fight that will have to wait.

Luckily, the third option is not a bad option at all. In fact, it may be the best option of them all.

Cain Velasquez looked as good as he's ever looked last night, when he destroyed Antonio Silva by way of a savage and bloody beatdown.

Velasquez got caught in his last fight against dos Santos. It could have happened to anyone. It did happen to him. He also was not at 100-percent health. Maybe that changes things, maybe it doesn't.

Regardless, a rematch between these two sluggers is really a win-win for everyone. It gives dos Santos a chance to prove it wasn't a fluke and he really is the better man, it gives Velasquez a chance to redeem himself, and it gives the fans the chance to see a very exciting fight.

It also gives the UFC the chance to make a lot of money.

In the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White all but committed to the rematch, stating that he "likes that fight." For now, the fight isn't totally shored up, but it looks very likely to be added to the docket soon.

We know Dana likes this fight, but do you? Are you Maniacs excited about a second go-round between "JDS" and Velasquez? Any predictions?