Michael Chandler has a message for Eddie Alvarez: ‘It was an honor’

While they may have been competitive rivals for the better part of the last two years, Michael Chandler has clearly grown to respect Eddie Alvarez, both professionally and personally.

This was evident in his classy farewell message to the Bellator champion, where he congratulated him on signing with the UFC and wished him all the best for his future with the promotion.

Check out the tweet below:

I wish you nothing but the best @EAlvarezFight . It was an honor to lock horns with you twice. Go get it man.

— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) August 20, 2014

Alvarez responded shortly thereafter:

@MikeChandlerMMA I feel the same brother , brought the best outta each other , ill save the date 4 the future Go get that belt back ! Ousss

— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) August 20, 2014

The first meeting between Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler took place back in Nov. 2011 and was widely considered to be one of the best fights of the year. Going head-to-head with Shogun vs. Henderson 1, Alvarez and Chandler embarked on a thrilling four-round battle before Chandler secured the victory via rear-naked choke to claim the title.

Their second meeting took place two years later at Bellator 106 last November. While arguably not as memorable as their first meeting, the two went back and forth for the entire five rounds before Alvarez picked up the split decision win to regain his title.

While a trilogy fight was planned for the promotion's inaugural Pay-Per-View event, Alvarez would withdraw from the contest, which allowed Will Brooks to step in and claim the victory over Chandler.

The video of their first meeting is still available for viewing here: