Michael Bisping believes Conor McGregor could face Nate Diaz for a third time in his next fight.
The Notorious has been linked with a number of opponents since dismantling Donald Cerrone earlier this month, including Diaz, Jorge Masvidal and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Bisping thinks McGregor will get a rematch with lightweight champion Nurmagomedov, but thinks he will take on Diaz before then and "smoke him".
Bisping told MMA Fighting: “I mean listen, [the fight with Jorge Masvidal] would do great business, but here’s my prediction. I guarantee this is what happens with Conor next. He ain’t fighting Khabib, because Khabib’s fighting Tony [Ferguson] and then he’s got Ramadan, and Conor wants to fight again soon.
“He was talking about Nate Diaz, and Nate Diaz 3 will do big business. Conor will smoke Nate Diaz, because Nate Diaz has always been an average fighter; he just built his f*cking career on choking out Conor McGregor.
"The second fight he got beat, and now because of all his inactivity, Conor will smoke him.
"So in the meantime, we’ll get Conor-Diaz 3 and then he’ll fight Khabib later in the year. That’s my prediction.”
Meanwhile, McGregor is determined to return to the boxing ring and compete for honours - according to his manager.
Audie Attar told MMA Fighting: “He’s serious about boxing.
“He said it. That’s something that I can tell you, if he says something he has interest in, it’s likely going to happen.”
Attar added: “We definitely monitor everything. We monitor not only fan engagement and interest from the public, but then you look at who’s out there talking what. Because it could be where we have a few different options to weigh and decide on.
“At the end of the day, I saw Floyd, I saw Manny and now Bob Arum, who at one point said, ‘It's not a smart idea to crossover.’ He’s a believer now as well.”
