Arguably the hottest free agent on the MMA market may be heading to the Octagon before the year’s end … or he may not.

Former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez received a contract offer from the UFC on Wednesday, over two months after his Bellator contract expired. Various media outlets reported the news but Sports Illustrated’s Loretta Hunt first tweeted the news.

Bellator typically has a 90-day exclusive negotiating period with their fighters after a contract runs out, but CEO Bjorn Rebney waived that stipulation in the case of Alvarez.

However, Rebney did not waive his two-week matching clause, which still has roughly 10 days to run its course.

Rebney spoke to MMA Junkie about one of their most recognizable fighters of all-time, stating that re-signing “The Silent Assassin” all comes down to a numbers game.

"It really becomes for us a mathematical analysis," Rebney said. "We know where we would want to be with Ed, we know what kind of a deal structure would work for Bellator and our partners at Spike TV, and we're just waiting … "We'd like to keep him, but it will all boil down to the numbers."

Alvarez comprised an impressive 9-1 record under the Bellator banner, with his sole defeat being when he lost his championship to Michael Chandler at Bellator 58 last November.

He has since made short work of fellow notable 155-pounders Shinya Aoki and Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, knocking them both out in the first round.

Should Bellator lose Alvarez to the UFC, that would be their second notable star to jump ship this year. This summer, Bellator lost middleweight champion Hector Lombard in what was reported to be a $700,000 deal.

Alvarez owns convincing wins over UFC veterans Josh Neer and Roger Huerta, as well as Bellator featherweight title holder Pat Curran, so there is little question he can handle the competition inside the Octagon.