Michael Chandler 'Would Love to Finish That Trilogy' with Eddie Alvarez

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is officially a free agent after his rematch with Dustin Poirier last month. Alvarez headed into the fight with Poirier knowing it would be his last contracted bout and told reporters before that fight that he was confident of eventually negotiating a deal that suits him after turning down a contract offer from the UFC earlier in the year.

Alvarez was defeated by Poirier and has been relatively quiet since the loss. UFC President Dana White did state he’d like Alvarez to re-sign with his promotion but wouldn’t begrudge him signing elsewhere. One option for “The Underground King” could be a return to Bellator which could lead to a trilogy bout against one of his former foes, Michael Chandler.

The pair have already met twice under the Bellator banner. In 2011, Chandler submitted Alvarez at Bellator 58 to win the lightweight belt, then at Bellator 106 in 2013, where Alvarez took the belt from Chandler via decision in what would be Alvarez’s last fight for the promotion.

Speaking to MMA Junkie recently, Chandler gave Alvarez a glowing review before stating he’d love the chance to fight Alvarez for a third time.

“I have a ton of respect for him as a fighter, and I just want to see the best for him,” Chandler said. “If that means staying with the UFC, I hope he stays in the UFC. If that means coming to Bellator, I would love to welcome him to Bellator and finish that trilogy. There’s not a day that’s gone by recently since he announced that this last fight was the last fight on his contract, that people haven’t stopped talking about the trilogy. People are putting videos out there and asking the ‘What-ifs’ and whatnot. I got a ton of respect for the guy. He fights for the right reasons, he fights like a dog and I’d love to share the cage with him again.”