Monday Morning Hangover: What's next for Rory MacDonald after losing final fight of UFC contract?

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 89 went down last Saturday night (June 18, 2016) from inside TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

For complete coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 89: "MacDonald vs. Thompson" fight card click here.

Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Patrick Cote, who was beat down and knocked out by Donald Cerrone in an entertaining welterweight scrap (recap here).

And Valerie Letourneau, who suffered her second straight crushing defeat, thanks to the hands of Joanne Calderwood in UFC's first-ever flyweight bout (see it again here).

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

Rory MacDonald.

Going into his 170-pound showdown against Stephen Thompson, "Red King" was looking to make splash not only to impress the hometown crowd, but UFC higher-ups, too.

That's because Rory was betting on himself, and chose to go into his final fight under his contract with the ZUFFA-owned promotion without renewing; opting to test the free agency waters once the dust settled.

He also wasn't shy in saying that he would ink a new contract with the promotion that offered him the most cash.

But after suffering a one-sided beatdown (that resulted in yet another broken nose) at the hands of "Wonderboy," Rory's bargaining chips are all but gone.

Thompson -- an elusive striker -- picked his shots throughout the 25-minute affair, closing the distance and landing when he could. While Rory had a few bright moments, he failed to mount much offense. Ultimately, the Octagon-side judges awarded Thompson a unanimous decision victory.

And it wasn't hard to score.

Now, Rory -- aside from looking at getting surgery following another brutal defeat -- will likely meet with his management team to see what's next.

Sure, he can always re-sign with UFC; however, coming off two consecutive decisive losses -- one of which was his first-ever championship fight -- won't do much to fatten his wallet. Should he not be able to come terms with the Las Vegas, Nevada-based fight company, there are plenty of other options for "Red King."

World Series of Fighting (WSOF) is still going strong and has plenty of challengers for Rory to tango with, as is ONE in Asia.

However, if Rory does not return to the Octagon, it's safe to assume his next fight will go down inside the Bellator MMA cage. After all, company CEO Scott Coker has already expressed interest in signing MacDonald.

And as history has shown, Coker and Co. are not opposed to handing out lucrative contracts to fighters coming off losses.

What say you, Maniacs, where do you see Rory going from here?