In a bold move, Bellator MMA officials today announced the promotion has agreed to a “deal structure” with Gilbert Melendez while he’s within the matching period of his expired UFC contract.

“The moment Gil was legally able to explore the free agent market, Gil’s management team reached out to me and we began figuring out how to bring Gil to Bellator,” stated Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney in a press release.

The deal structure was characterized as a multi-year, multi-fight agreement, though the Viacom-owned promotion didn’t say when Melendez (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will become an unrestricted free agent. Bellator officials were not immediately available for comment when contacted by MMAjunkie. UFC officials also declined to comment.

The announcement nonetheless puts the ball in the UFC’s court as to how it will proceed with the former champion, though the promotion’s president hasn’t seemed too hopeful a deal will get done.

UFC President Dana White on Wednesday said he was “done” dealing with Melendez’s rep, Georges St-Pierre manager Rodolphe Beaulieu, and said the fighter needed to talk with UFC executive Lorenzo Fertitta “quick” to save any possible deal.

Attempts to reach Melendez for comment were unsuccessful, but Rebney said, “Gil has a vision for what he wants to accomplish both inside and outside the cage and we can help make his vision a reality.

“We are in the business of developing and showcasing the greatest fighters on earth. That’s what we intend to do here with Gil and it’s what we’ll continue to do in the future.”

Melendez, 31, served out the remainder of his contract with the now-defunct Strikeforce in the UFC, where he immediately fought for the promotion’s lightweight title and lost a closely contested split decision to then-champ Benson Henderson (although he banked a flat $175,000 for his efforts). He went on to outpoint Diego Sanchez at UFC 166 in a bloody slugfest that was one of the best fights of 2013.

This past December, the UFC announced Melendez would face Khabib Nurmagomedov, but White later said the fight was off.

Reports of a contract impasse first surfaced this past month. Melendez hasn’t spoken publicly about the issue, but today tweeted, “As soon as I was a free agent, I had my team call Bellator, and Bjorn made an amazing offer that would allow me to reach my goals.

“It’s an opp. to be apart of something special and I could make history testing myself against some of the toughest LWs in the world.”

Prior to the announcement, former Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler expressed his desire to fight Melendez in the promotion’s circle cage. Chandler is expected to face current champ Alvarez in a rubber match later this year.

For more on the UFC and Bellator’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Gilbert Melendez)