Aldo hoping McGregor rematch happens in New York

If Jose Aldo wants a shot at unifying the UFC featherweight belt at Madison Square Garden, he's going to need some help from Nate Diaz.

Aldo told reporters, according to MMAFighting.com, if Conor McGregor loses his rematch with Diaz at UFC 202, the Irishman could move back down to featherweight to face him at the promotion's long-awaited New York debut at UFC 205.

"If he loses (to Diaz), it’s highly likely that they put us to fight on Nov. 12, at Madison Square Garden," Aldo said at a media scrum. "The Irish community is big over there. But if he wins, I think they will do a third fight between them and ruin all my plans."

McGregor knocked Aldo out in 13 seconds at UFC 194 to win the featherweight title, but has yet to defend it. Aldo fought Frankie Edgar for the interim belt at UFC 200 as a result, winning by unanimous decision. While a unification bout seems inevitable, Aldo expects a trilogy between McGregor and Diaz should the Irishman win this time around. The Brazilian did however predict an outcome similar to the first matchup.

"If I had to bet, it would be Nate again," he said. "From what I saw he's way bigger, stronger, and he's training. He got that fight on short notice and still was able to win. Well trained, it's really hard for McGregor. If you look at (Diaz's) fights, even when he's getting beat, he finds a way to come back. If I had to bet, it would be Nate."

If McGregor continues his weight class promiscuity and Aldo can't avenge his loss, "Scarface" still hopes to be on the UFC 205 card, naming Max Holloway as the next best potential foe.

"If it's a fight against Holloway, I don't see any problem," he said. "This event in New York will make history. I really hope I'm at this card because I want to be part of history."

UFC 205 is scheduled to take place on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.