Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor will likely be favored going into his next fight. Getty

Conor McGregor has multiple options for his next fight, which will undoubtedly be another one of the biggest bouts in MMA history. But no matter who he takes on when he returns to the octagon, it looks like the Irish fighter will be the favorite.

Following his unanimous decision victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 202, three potential opponents—Diaz, Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez—stand out as possible challengers to McGregor. Bovada.lv has given McGregor -185 betting odds in potential fights against Alvarez or Aldo, and he’s an early -190 favorite in a third fight against Diaz.

McGregor still holds the UFC featherweight title, and Aldo is his mandatory challenger. UFC president Dana White says McGregor must take the fight or forfeit the belt, though the champ isn’t too excited about the possibility of facing Aldo next. McGregor has already shown what he can do against Aldo, needing just 13 seconds to take the belt from him at UFC 194.

It’s unknown exactly when Diaz and McGregor will go at it for a third time, but their first two fights were so well-received that their feud will almost certainly end in a trilogy. McGregor appeared to have learned from his mistakes at UFC 196, which saw Diaz submit UFC’s biggest star in the second round.

Both fighters seem ready to face off one more time, but White doesn’t want the bout to happen just yet, especially not at 170 pounds like it did at UFC 196 and UFC 202.

“When he’s (McGregor) at his right weight, the guy is awesome, he’s super-talented. I want to see him fight all the best in the world at his weight, not 30 pounds heavier,” White said on the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast.

McGregor agrees, stating that he wants his next fight with Diaz to be at 155 pounds. He was supposed to fight for the lightweight title at UFC 196, but Diaz replaced the injured Rafael dos Anjos on short notice and asked for the fight to be bumped up to welterweight.

If McGregor isn’t going to fight Diaz right away and doesn’t want to face Aldo, it might make sense for him to take on Alvarez and finally challenge for the 155-pound belt.

“McGregor-Alvarez makes sense. Absolutely,” White said.

Unlike Diaz and Aldo, McGregor has never faced Alvarez. Since his unanimous decision loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC 178, Alvarez has won three fights in a row, including his first-round knockout of dos Anjos on July 7. McGregor has never fought at 155 pounds in UFC.

Aldo and Alvarez are +150 underdogs in a potential fight against McGregor, while Diaz has +155 odds. Diaz had even odds entering UFC 202.

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