Monday Morning Hangover: What's next for Rafael dos Anjos following second consecutive loss?

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 98 blew the roof off Arena Mexico last Saturday night (Nov. 5, 2016) in Mexico City, Mexico.

For complete results and play-by-play coverage of "Dos Anjos vs. Ferguson" click here.

Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Marcin Held, who got a rude welcome into the Octagon by longtime veteran Diego Sanchez (full video highlights here). And Charles Oliveira, who was forced to tap to Ricardo Lamas, topping a rough week for "Do Bronx" in Mexico (recap here).

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

Rafael dos Anjos.

Going into his bout against Tony Ferguson, "RDA" was looking to get back on the fast track to a title shot after coughing up the strap to Eddie Alvarez a few months ago. And taking out a streaking fighter would be just what the Brazilian bomber needed to accomplish his goal.

Unfortunately for Rafael, he witnessed first hand just why Ferguson has won nine in a row in a stacked division, as "El Cucuy" took it to Dos Anjos for five rounds. But it wasn’t a complete one-sided beatdown, as Rafael was determined to go out swinging.

Full video highlights here.

In the end, though, Ferguson proved to be too much for the ex-champion, earning a decisive unanimous decision to pick up his ninth straight victory. Now, the road looks bright for Ferguson, as he’ll likely fight for the 155-pound strap in the near future.

But it’s not like he’s thinking about it.

"If I wanted the title, I would have already had it," Ferguson told MMA Junkie. "I wanted to pick this division apart, one by one. I said to (UFC President Dana White), when I was in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ house, he asked me, ‘Who do you want to fight next?’ I told him, ‘This is a tournament, right? Because in a tournament you’re supposed to beat the best. Even if you’re picking them off one by one and being a round-robin, you’ve got to fight absolutely everybody."

As for Dos Anjos, the road looks much gloomier, as he has now dropped two in a row for the first time since 2008 when he lost his first two fights inside the Octagon.

He’ll likely take a dip in the rankings, but I don’t expect him to fall too low. Nevertheless, he’ll have to put together a rather impressive string of wins if he wants to get back to the big dance, as there are plenty of worthy and deserving fighters in the division ready for their own crack at the crown.

Perhaps a showdown against the loser of the upcoming fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Michael Johnson -- which is set to go down at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, 2016 in New York — would be a good return bout for Dos Anjos.

Unless, of course, you have a better idea.