Mapping out the bookings to a potential GSP-McGregor superfight

It was only a matter of time before rumors of a superfight between Georges St-Pierre and Conor McGregor echoed throughout MMA after the Montreal native showed he's still got "it" in his triumphant return against Michael Bisping on Saturday night.

Las Vegas didn't even wait for reports of a potential fight, as Bovada listed St-Pierre as a favorite over McGregor on Tuesday.

The two champions - perhaps the most popular names in the sport - currently reside in divisions that are 30 pounds apart, so some pieces need to fall into place for them to meet inside the Octagon. But as we've seen with recent UFC matchmaking, the fans will typically get the fight they want.

Here is the most direct way to get "Rush" and "The Notorious" to square off:

Robbie Lawler vs. Rafael dos Anjos

When: December 2017

The first step on the road to this superfight comes on Dec. 16 when these two top welterweight contenders do battle in Winnipeg with the winner scheduled to get a shot at the belt.

Conor McGregor vs. Tony Ferguson

When (estimated): January 2018

McGregor has said he believes a lightweight tile unification bout with Ferguson is next.

UFC 220 has been scheduled to be the first pay-per-view card in Boston since 2010, which seems like an ideal place for McGregor to make his return.

Tyron Woodley vs. Winner of Lawler and dos Anjos

When (estimated): March 2018

Tyron Woodley has been clear in saying he wants to fight St-Pierre, but UFC president Dana White may want to use this fight to build some extra hype around the welterweight champion.

The danger of this fight is the UFC could lose its reigning champion before a potential matchup with GSP. But Woodley has proven to lack in drawing power, and Lawler or dos Anjos could evidently be a more popular option for a bout against St-Pierre.

McGregor vs. Nate Diaz

When (estimated): June 2018

With a fight against GSP looming, it may be in McGregor's best interest to get more accustomed to fighting at 170 pounds. Enter Nate Diaz.

After battling Diaz twice before at welterweight, McGregor has been adamant that he wants the third fight at his natural weight of 155 pounds, but things can change if there's enough money on the line.

St-Pierre vs. Welterweight champ

When (estimated): July 2018

Though St-Pierre did just win the middleweight title, it seems likely he'll drop back down to welterweight rather than stick around to defend his new gold. He referred to 170 pounds as his "real weight" in his post-fight interview and his boxing coach Freddie Roach has been open about his own desire for GSP to drop down.

As he retired holding the welterweight belt in 2013 and showed against Bisping that he's just as sharp as before, it's no stretch to give St-Pierre a title shot; not to mention the fan appeal of another two-division champion.

St-Pierre could also get this fight earlier in the year as Woodley has yet to return from his shoulder injury, which is rumored to keep him out for months. If Woodley isn't ready to fight the winner of Lawler and dos Anjos, GSP could be the one to take that fight for an interim title around March.

St-Pierre vs. McGregor

When (estimated): November 2018

If all those fights and results fall into place, we could be seeing GSP and McGregor square off in a year's time, possibly sooner if Woodley doesn't regain his health to defend his belt.

McGregor has said he wants to headline Dublin's Croke Park, a 73,500-seat soccer stadium, and this would be his best bet to do it, though the fight date may need to be moved up to account for weather. A return to Toronto's Rogers Centre, where St-Pierre made history against Jake Shields in 2011, could also make sense for the gigantic event.

It will be interesting to see if this superfight can still survive if the results leading to it don't work in its favor, or if it will go the route of another rumored mega-bout, GSP vs. Anderson Silva, as a spectacle the fight world never got to witness.