Jon Anik says Conor McGregor will fight Nate Diaz if he wins lightweight title at UFC 205

The future of Conor McGregor is uncertain at this time. While the current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight king will challenge Eddie Alvarez for lightweight title rights later tonight (Sat., Nov. 12, 2016) at UFC 205 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y., nobody knows for sure what "Notorious" will do if he wins. Will he move back down to 145 pounds to finally defend his title? Will he stay at lightweight and give Tony Ferguson what he deserves? Or will he actually take a hiatus from fighting?

According to UFC commentator Jon Anik, McGregor will encounter a familiar foe after his monumental bout with Alvarez at UFC 205. It may not be the most fair matchup considering the current state of both the UFC featherweight and lightweight title pictures, but how can you argue with the numbers?

"The most likely course of action with a win would be a Nate Diaz trilogy fight," said Anik in a recent interview with FOX Sports. "You do it with championship stakes and that just raises everything. It's interesting too because they didn't make the trilogy fight for UFC 205, which they certainly could have. I wanted to see championship stakes for whoever won that fight so I'm glad Conor is fighting for a title. They didn't strike with the trilogy then, but if you don't strike with the trilogy now, you never know. So I think you'll see that fight if Conor wins."

While it may not be a popular pick among title contenders like Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Michael Johnson, Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway and current interim featherweight champion Jose Aldo, it's the best money move for a shot-calling McGregor.

"We've heard rumblings that he might take as much as a year off. I think he has gotten to a point where he can really name his price," added Anik. "If he beats Eddie Alvarez, he could say I'm taking a year off and come back and command $35 or $40 million a fight.

"At this point, I think he has gotten to a place where I don't know that I ever thought a mixed martial artist could get there or I didn't think an MMA athlete could get there this soon where he can name his price."

If McGregor does in fact defeat Alvarez this evening to become the first fighter ever to hold two titles at the same time, and calls out Diaz for a trilogy fight for the 155-pound championship, all hell will break loose. Heck, maybe McGregor's big announcement is a third fight with the only man who has defeated him inside of the Octagon.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 205 fight card, starting with the Fight Pass "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET, and then the remaining undercard balance on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.