Yoel Romero has agreed to join Bellator following his release from the UFC earlier this month.

The 43 year-old middleweight was released from his contract with three fights remaining on his deal, as Dana White admitted the company was looking to make ‘serious cuts’ at the end of what has been a tough year for sport.

It was originally announced that Bellator and ONE Championship had passed on the option to sign Romero, who has lost four of his last five fights.

However it was announced on Monday that Bellator have now gone back on their initial decision and agreed terms with Romero to join the promotion, with a deal to be signed imminently.

Yoel Romero is headed to Bellator.

Romero has agreed to a new deal with Bellator, sources say. He is expected to sign imminently.

He’ll debut for the promotion in 2021 at 205 pounds. His debut date and fight aren’t set yet, sources say.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 14, 2020

The big difference between his UFC stint and his upcoming Bellator stint is that he will be moving up to light heavyweight in this new chapter of his career.

While the length of his deal is unknown at the moment, it’s expected that Romero will be pushed towards the top of the division along with fellow new signing Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson.

‘Soldier of God’ Romero is widely regarded as one of the best UFC fighters to never have won a UFC championship, despite having competed for the belt on four occasions. He competed for the middleweight championship most recently in March, losing a unanimous decision to Israel Adesanya in a rather forgettable fight.

Romero will now likely make his Bellator debut in early 2021, as he works towards a light heavyweight title shot against new champion Vadim Nemkov.