Gegard Mousasi is the latest high-profile fighter to exit the UFC for Bellator.

Mousasi, the No. 6 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, signed a multi-fight agreement with the Viacom-owned promotion after the UFC waived the matching period on his previous contract.

MMAjunkie contributor Chamatkar Sandhu first brought word of the signing. An additional person close to the UFC confirmed it, requesting anonymity because the news had not yet been made public.

Bellator later announced the news in a press release.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Gegard to the growing Bellator family,” Bellator President Scott Coker said in a statement. “He’s one of the most well-rounded fighters in all of MMA and can compete in multiple divisions, so that really opens up some exciting matchmaking opportunities for us and for the fans. We’re looking forward to having him compete on Spike very soon.”

A new era has arrived. Me signing my @BellatorMMA contract. Bellator MWs, there is a new sheriff in town. pic.twitter.com/eJ1yDmROcu — Gegard Mousasi (@mousasi_mma) July 10, 2017

Mousasi (42-6-2 MMA, 9-3 UFC) entered negotiations with the UFC after fulfilling the last fight on his deal at UFC 210, earning a controversial second-round TKO of Chris Weidman, which gave him his fifth straight UFC win. In May, he said he was unhappy with the promotion’s offer to keep him in the fold.

“We want to sign with the UFC,” Mousasi told “UFC Tonight” on FS1 afterward. “UFC wants to sign also, so I don’t know. They should pay. I’m co-main event all the time, so it’s not like people don’t know me. (The offer) is not good. We don’t like it.”

According to a report from Swedish website Kimura.se, a UFC attorney didn’t think Mousasi was a big enough name to justify his salary demands.

By all accounts, though, Mousasi was on track to vie for the UFC middleweight title. His win over Weidman added another top-ranked fighter to his list of key wins. Apart from an upset loss to Uriah Hall in 2015 – a setback he later avenged – his career momentum remained unbroken.

One of Mousasi’s most recent opponents, Thiago Santos, brought his name back into the spotlight by requesting a rematch after losing by first-round KO at UFC 200. But “The Dreamcatcher” is headed a different direction.

The Bellator signing represents a reunion between Mousasi and Scott Coker, who signed the Dutch-Armenian fighter to the now-defunct Strikeforce. Mousasi won that promotion’s light heavyweight title in 2010, only to lose it in his first title defense against Muhammed Lawal. After Strikeforce was acquired by UFC parent Zuffa, Mousasi then jumped ship to the UFC.

Mousasi joins Rory MacDonald, Ryan Bader and Lorenz Larkin in a group of former top-ranked UFC fighters who’ve defected to Bellator over the past year.

For more on the upcoming UFC and Bellator schedules, visit the MMA Rumors section of the site.