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The stars will come out for UFC 200, but which ones will get the coveted spots?

Kevin Iole
Senior boxing/MMA columnist
The stars will come out for UFC 200, but which ones will get the coveted spots?

Despite the phenomenal growth of the UFC and the increase in interest in mixed martial arts worldwide, UFC 100 on July 11, 2009, in Las Vegas remains one of promotion's bellwether events. It has long been the company's best-selling pay-per-view card as well as its highest grossing event.

UFC 196, which featured two big upsets in the main and co-main events with Nate Diaz submitting Conor McGregor in the second round of a welterweight bout and Miesha Tate winning the women's bantamweight title with a final-round submission of Holly Holm, is on track to surpass it, though final figures aren't in.

But the UFC has indicated it plans to make a huge event on July 9 at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and the likelihood exists it will set records for pay-per-view sales and revenue generated.

No fights have been announced yet, but here's a stab at what the five-fight main card could be:

Robbie Lawler versus Nate Diaz for the UFC welterweight title: Lawler seems far too big for Diaz, who has fought at welterweight in his career but is most-suited body-type wise for lightweight. He's beaten McGregor, the featherweight champion who moved up to welterweight, as well as Rory Markham and Marcus Davis at 170. But he's lost to Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald at 170, taking a one-sided beating from MacDonald. Still, he wants to fight at 170 and he only wants big fights. A shot at Lawler's belt would certainly be big, and Lawler has already fought (and lost to) Diaz's older brother, Nick. So it makes sense on a number of levels.

Georges St-Pierre could make his return to MMA at UFC 200. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Getty Images)
Georges St-Pierre could make his return to MMA at UFC 200. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Getty Images)

Carlos Condit versus Georges St-Pierre in a welterweight bout: Condit and St-Pierre fought at UFC 154 in 2012, with St-Pierre taking a unanimous decision by using his wrestling in a welterweight title fight. St-Pierre walked away from the sport in 2013 after a successful title defense over Johny Hendricks, but he's been training and showed interest in returning. Condit has spoken of retirement, but a fight with St-Pierre would probably keep him active.

Rafael dos Anjos versus Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title: Dos Anjos was supposed to defend his title against McGregor at UFC 196, but broke a foot and had to pull out. That opened the door for McGregor to move up to welterweight to face Diaz. But he'l be back ready to go and it makes sense to pair him with Alvarez who defeated Anthony Pettis in January and is now the division's No. 1 contender.

Conor McGregor versus Frankie Edgar for the UFC featherweight title: McGregor has options, but he seems headed toward a defense of his featherweight title he won in December from Jose Aldo. The only question is whether it will be a rematch with Aldo or a defense against Edgar. Here's guessing it will be Edgar, who has done everything he's needed to earn the fight and hasn't had a title shot since losing to Aldo in 2013.

Holly Holm versus Amanda Nunes in a women's bantamweight bout: Holm hopes to get another crack at Miesha Tate, but White has said Tate will defend against Rousey. If Rousey's schedule somehow changes and she's ready to compete by July, then scrap this Holm-Nunes match and be guaranteed that Rousey-Tate III will take this spot. But with it looking more realistic for Rousey to be prepared to return in the September-to-November time frame, this will give the division a good bout that will producer a contender for the Rousey-Tate winner.

There are other bouts that could figure in the mix for UFC 200, depending upon what happens at fights in the interim. If Jon Jones defeats Daniel Cormier on April 23 at UFC 197, he'd be in the mix for a bout on this show. And an Aldo-Max Holoway fight would be good, too, if Aldo would agree to fight anyone other than McGregor.

But the way things stand now, here's guessing the main card will be Lawler-Nate Diaz; Condit-St-Pierre; dos Anjos-Alvarez; McGregor-Edgar; and Holm-Nunes.

The question after that would be who would be the main event? McGregor would seem to have a leg up on that, but it would be hard to deny a comebacking St-Pierre that spot. That said, if a non-title bout was the main event, it could lead to far too many five-round fights and put a time crunch on.

So that makes it likely that McGregor-Edgar will be your main event at UFC 200.

Post your thoughts on who you'd like to see on the UFC 200 main card in the comment section, keeping in mind matches that are already made.