Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis says he is nearing full recovery from an elbow injury and wants to return to work before the year is out.

Pettis (18-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on Friday told AXS TV’s “Inside MMA” he’s hopeful for a December return – and has his sights set on the UFC on FOX 17 card in Florida that will be headlined by new champion Rafael dos Anjos (24-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) against the red-hot Donald Cerrone (28-6 MMA, 15-3 UFC).

That way, if something happens to the champion or challenger and one of them can’t make the fight, Pettis would be there to save the day.

“I’m pushing for this year. I’m pushing for a December return,” Pettis told the show. “‘Cowboy’ and dos Anjos are on a card, and if one of them gets injured I’d be ready to step in.”

UFC on FOX 17 takes place Dec. 19 at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. That event was made official by the UFC earlier this week; the next day, the dos Anjos vs. Cerrone title fight was announced.

Dos Anjos is ranked No. 1 and Cerrone No. 4 in the latest NOS Energy Drink MMA lightweight rankings. Pettis is No. 3 on the list.

Pettis said he wasn’t surprised when Cerrone was given a title shot against dos Anjos, who will be putting his title up for the first time since March, when he took it from Pettis with a lopsided unanimous decision in the UFC 185 main event. Cerrone was scheduled to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 187 in May, but a Nurmagomedov forced him out. Instead, Cerrone broke John Makdessi’s jaw for his eighth straight win.

“I think everybody knew already Cerrone was going to get the next title shot,” Pettis said. “After Khabib got injured, he took the fight (against Makdessi) and he won. It’s a lot of fights in a row, so I kind of expected him to get that title shot. And I was injured – I had a pretty bad elbow injury that kept me out.”

With eight straight wins – five of them coming by stoppage, and four earning him fight-night bonus checks – few would deny Cerrone has earned his shot at a UFC belt for the first time. He twice fought for titles when he was in the WEC and twice lost to Benson Henderson.

His fight with dos Anjos will be a rematch from his last loss in November 2013. In fact, his two most recent setbacks are to dos Anjos and Pettis. Since those two bumps in the road, he’s been tearing it up.

Dos Anjos is more than a 3-1 favorite in the fight against Cerrone, though, and Pettis said a rematch with the Brazilian ultimately is what he’s after. In the meantime, there are a couple fights in particular he’d be glad to take.

“My ideal opponent would be Rafael dos Anjos – somebody who did that to me, that’s something I want back,” Pettis said. “Ideally, that’s the fight I want. Who makes sense to get me there? You’ve got Khabib out there with an injury, and I think he’s coming back soon. Nate Diaz and me never had a good exchange of words, so Diaz is out there. Anybody who’s going to get me my shot back at dos Anjos (if he beats Cerrone).”

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 17, check out the UFC Events section of the site.