When Anthony Pettis returns from his injury, he'll have no lack of a willing opponent.

The former UFC lightweight champion has been on the sidelines since undergoing elbow surgery in May. And there's a line of lightweights forming for a shot at the Roufusport fighter.

Both former Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez and contender Edson Barboza want a fight with Pettis in December, MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani reported on Wednesday's edition of UFC Tonight. The information comes via the fighter's respective managers, Alex Davis and Josh Husak.

Alvarez (26-4) is coming off the biggest win of his career, at UFC 188, when he rallied from a slow first round and claimed the final two in a victory over rival Gilbert Melendez. Barboza (16-3) defeated Paul Felder in an exciting fight at UFC on FOX 16 for his third win in his past four fights.

Pettis was upset by Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185 in March and lost the title. He was training for a bout with Myles Jury when he injured his elbow. Pettis, who has been angling to get into the dos Anjos-Donald Cerrone fight on Dec. 19 if Cerrone has to pull out at any point, has not responded to Alvarez and Barboza's callouts.