Micheal Chandler has signed with UFC where he will serve as back-up for Khabib Nurmagomedov's fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 245.
UFC president Dana White announced on ESPN's SportCentre that Chandler has officially signed with the promotion and will be on standby for the clash between lightweight champion Nurmagomedov and interim champ Gaethje on October 24.
Regarded as one of the best lightweights outside UFC, Chandler became a free agent after his knockout win over Benson Henderson at Bellator 243 in August.
The 34-year old joined Bellator back in 2010 and spent nearly 10 years with the promotion, successfully defending Bellator's light-weight title six times across three separate reigns. Chandler holds notable wins over Henderson, Eddie Alvarez and Patricky Freire.
After his convincing win over Henderson, Chandler called out Conor McGregor and made the claim that he could beat the former UFC champion in under two rounds.
"As far as that fight goes, I finish Conor in under two (rounds) in my opinion. It would be similar to shades of (Nate) Diaz 1, wear him down, hit him with hard shots, take every single one of his shots.
"He's got that sneaky strong, thick and hard left hand that he throws and it's straight. Avoid that, wear him down a little bit, make him see Jesus, just put him out."
However, former UFC legend and now Bellator analyst Chael Sonnen is not sure if a move to UFC is the right one for Chandler.
When asked by Sky Sports if a move to the UFC would be right for Chandler, the former lightweight said before Bellator 243: "I don't think Chandler would love the numbers, I don't think there's a huge use for him at 155lbs right now on that side of the tracks".