Michael Chandler wants Gilbert Melendez to come to Bellator

Could Gilbert Melendez be on his way out of the UFC? Dana White recently talked about Gil's contract negotiations and he wasn't very hopeful. Word of this has spread quickly and one man that noticed was former Bellator lightweight Michael Chandler. He tweeted that he'd be interested in fighting Melendez in Bellator:

Seeing this news about @GilbertMelendez has me excited. Who wants to see me welcome him to @BellatorMMA after I beat Eddie?

— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) February 13, 2014

Chandler (12-1) will face Eddie Alvarez for the third time later in the year, but the addition of Melendez (22-3) would potentially be huge for both men and for the organization itself. It would give them another top-level opponent to fight and a big UFC/Strikeforce face that isn't on the downside of his career for the organization to promote. Melendez, a former Strikeforce champ who came within an inch of claiming the UFC belt too, might come with a pretty big price tag but Bellator could probably afford him.

This is all speculation at this point and I'd much rather see Melendez stay and fight more top guys in the UFC, but who wouldn't potentially like to see Chandler vs. Melendez or Alvarez vs. Melendez? I sure would.

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