Monday Morning Hangover: What's next for Kelvin Gastelum after tough loss in Mexico?

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 78 blew the roof off Monterrey Arena last Saturday night (Nov. 21, 2015) in Monterrey, Mexico.

For complete coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 78: "Magny vs. Gastelum" fight card, click here.

Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Diego Sanchez, who was outgunned by Ricardo Lamas in the co-main event of the evening (video).  And Jussier Formiga, who lost a razor-thin split decision against wrestling powerhouse, Henry Cejudo (read about it here).

But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?

Kelvin Gastelum.

The former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) winner looked to return back to his welterweight roots in impressive fashion after he was forced to go up to middleweight by UFC president Dana White -- thanks to a few scale fails.

Unfortunately for Kelvin, his return to 170 pounds wasn't a good homecoming, as he ran into a streaking Neil Magny, who has been on quite a tear in the division, winning eight of nine prior to his showdown against Gastelum. One that came to be after Matt Brown suffered an injury which forced him out of the event.

And much like he did in his previous last-minute bout, "Scraggly" made the best of his opportunity by doing enough to win a split-decision nod over Gastelum.

After winning the first three rounds -- soundly -- Magny found himself on the wrong end of Gastelum's well-rounded attack. Thankfully for Neil, he was already up three to zero.

The loss (see it here) for Kelvin is a tough one, especially considering that -- as mentioned prior -- it was supposed to be his re-emergence at 170 pounds. Now, he'll have a tough climb back to contender status.

A climb that will keep him at welterweight, the division that suits him better.

While it's easy to play armchair quarterback come Monday morning, one can't nitpick at Kelvin's performance; he simply took too long to get started. And that's not taking anything away from Magny, as he did his part to secure the win.

Gastelum didn't.

As crushing a defeat as it may be, Gastelum still has time and talent on his side, as he has all the qualities to get back to the top and earn his way to a title shot down the road.

As far as who he should take on next, I think a welterweight showdown against Thiago Alves should be in order.

Both men are lingering at the bottom of the rankings (see the list here), coming of a loss and both should be ready to get back in the cage around the same time after Alves was forced out of his bout against Ben Henderson with an injury.

A win for either man would do wonders for their mixed martial arts (MMA) career, as they each carry the name that would look good on anyone's resume as a victory.

Any of you out there in matchmaking land have a better idea?