Five potential matchups for UFC 200
— -- LAS VEGAS -- UFC 200 will take place on July 9, 2016, in Las Vegas. That much we know.
As far as who we'll see on that card? Well, that's the part we're still wondering about. Expectations are high for the landmark event, and the UFC knows it. The promotion will obviously want to deliver big fights, as promised.
But with many of the company's stars either losing or in some sort of career limbo, what's a realistic lineup for UFC 200?
Here's a guess at five potential matchups we could see:
Robbie Lawler vs. Georges St-Pierre (welterweight title)
It's been more than two years since St-Pierre vacated the welterweight title and left the sport on top. Now that sport needs him back. His return to the Octagon would be more than strong enough to headline UFC 200. The 34-year-old attended UFC 196 on Saturday and told ESPN.com he has still not made a decision about his fighting future.
UFC president Dana White added, "have we been talking to Georges? Yes, we have -- but who knows? I honestly, right here, right now, don't know if Georges still wants to fight."
The ball is in St-Pierre's court. He has never needed to come back. But the feeling is he wants to come back. An attempt to reclaim the title and prove he's still the No. 1 welterweight in the world? Even after all this time off? That's a big-money fight. There's also history between these two, as Lawler watched his close friend and mentor Matt Hughes lose to St-Pierre in 2006 and 2007.
Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo II (featherweight title)
Hide Frankie Edgar. Seriously, get him out of here. He's not going to want to see this. Edgar looks like he might be the odd man out of this equation -- again. McGregor is most likely headed back to 145 pounds to defend his title. There are two options for him to fight: Edgar, or Aldo, whom he defeated via 13-second knockout in December.
Here's what McGregor said about it: "It's hard not to give Aldo another shot; he was 10 years undefeated -- but then again, he pulls out a lot. He doesn't show up. Frankie at least gets in there and competes."
Each man is deserving. I'd rather see Edgar get the shot. A healthy Aldo had an opportunity to step in for Rafael dos Anjos and fight McGregor at UFC 196 and didn't take it. That counts for something. But McGregor-Aldo II is probably the more marketable matchup. The UFC owes title shots to Edgar and Aldo. The guess is they'll go with Aldo first.
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Nate Diaz II (lightweight title)
Based on rankings, Diaz doesn't deserve the next 155-pound championship shot. As big as his win over McGregor was, it was technically a welterweight bout. As a lightweight, Diaz is 2-3 in his past five fights. His stock, however, is at an all-time high coming off this win. A motivated Nate Diaz is the best Nate Diaz, so it wouldn't be shocking to see the UFC feed him another key matchup. And if McGregor does want to move back up and fight for a lightweight title (and he says he does), having either dos Anjos or Diaz as the champion is a great look. He has history with both.
Although dos Anjos smashed Diaz in December 2014, that really wouldn't dampen this matchup too much in July. Again, other lightweights are probably more deserving, but we're talking about UFC 200 here. It demands "big" -- and at the moment, Diaz is big.
Miesha Tate vs. Holly Holm II (women's bantamweight title)
Immediately after UFC 196, White suggested on SportsCenter that Tate's first fight will be against Ronda Rousey. That could very well turn out to be the case, but there's a decent chance it doesn't. White was speaking out of frustration Saturday. He didn't like the UFC risking the Holm vs. Rousey rematch. He knew it would be the biggest rematch in UFC history and wanted Holm to wait for Rousey in order to make it happen.
Once the dust of UFC 196 settles, however, it actually makes a lot of sense for the UFC to run this back. Holm wants it and she's deserving of it. Saturday was her first loss, and she was very much on her way to winning the fight. Ninety more seconds and she would have had her first title defense.
This is a sellable matchup. It allows both women to stay active over the summer, and if Holm wins, hey, the UFC has the title rematch it wanted in the first place. Earlier this year, White said Holm vs. Rousey would be next. He ended up being wrong because we got Holm vs. Tate. Maybe he'll be wrong again this time.
Frankie Edgar vs. Max Holloway
If Edgar doesn't get the featherweight title shot, if it goes to Aldo instead, he'll need to take another fight, right? It's not fair, but that's life, and Edgar is the kind of competitor who takes these kinds of things on the chin.
Another option could be Anderson Silva in some capacity. But if this card features multiple title fights, it might not even need Silva's selling power. Better to save him for another day and, in the meantime, flush out the featherweight division's future. Crown a No. 1 contender and leave no doubt. This matchup makes sense. It would be a stylistically pleasing fight to start off a pay-per-view, and it would be a way to include Edgar in the UFC 200 festivities, even though not in the exact way he wants.