Kelvin Gastelum is a current middleweight and former welterweight fighter in the UFC.
TUF[]
Gastelum most recently made his UFC debut against TUF castmate Uriah Hall in the middleweight finals of the 17th season of TUF, defeating Hall via a close and exciting split decision.
Welterweight[]
Gastelum next dropped to welterweight with the help of nutritionist Mike Dolce. He was next set to make his welterweight debut against veteran Paulo Thiago. Thiago was unfortunately injured and replaced by Strikeforce veteran and prospect Brian Melancon.
Gastelum blitzed Melancon en route to a first round rear-naked choke submission victory.
He next signed to face fellow TUF winner Court McGee. Gastelum was injured in November 2013. He was replaced by Ryan LaFlare.
After recovering Gastelum called out Rick Story for the big UFC 171 card in March 2014. The fight was finalized in January 2013. Gastelum defeated Story via an extremely close and controversial split decision.
Gastelum next signed to fight Nico Musoke, defeating Musoke via unanimous decision.
Gastelum then fought veteran Jake Ellenberger in Mexico City, choking out Ellenberger with little difficulty for an impressive first round rear-naked choke victory.
Gastelum then fought Strikeforce veteran Tyron Woodley missing weight for the fight - not the first time as he'd missed weight for the Musoke fight as well. Woodley defeated a diminished Gastelum via split decision handing him his first loss.
Brief Stint Back at Middleweight[]
After the fight Gastelum was forced to move back up to middleweight for one fight defeating veteran and former Strikeforce welterweight champ Nate Marquardt via a corner stoppage TKO between the second and third rounds.
Back to Welterweight[]
Gastelum moved back to 170 pounds after that, losing a close and entertaining split decision to Neil Magny who was a late replacement for Matt Brown.
Gastelum then fought former UFC welterweight champ Johny Hendricks at the landmark UFC 200 event defeating Hendricks via a tepidly paced unanimous decision.
Gastelum then signed to fight veteran Jorge Masvidal. Instead in mid September 2016 Gastelum was pulled out of the Masvidal bout to replace injured former welterweight champ Robbie Lawler against surging former lightweight Donald Cerrone. The fight would take place in the UFC's historic first event at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, in November 2016. Unfortunately Gastelum once again missed weight prior to the weigh-ins for the fight and the fight was canceled. UFC president Dana White stated that he would never again let Gastelum compete at welterweight.
Inevitable Return to Middleweight..[]
Amidst a vitriolic fan backlash Gastelum soon signed to make his involuntary middleweight return against veteran Tim Kennedy. There was certainly a story-line there as Kennedy had been outspoken against missing weight in the past.
Despite some slight early success by Kennedy, Gastelum soon took over the fight and began to relentlessly batter Kennedy with punching and kicking combinations. No one doubted 37-year-old Kennedy's toughness as he took a heinous amount of punishment before finally folding and succumbing to a third round TKO. Gastelum next stated that he would do anything he needed to do to prove that he was going to change his lifestyle and commit to being a disciplined welterweight able to make the cut.
Gastelum instead wasted little time in next signing to fight again at middleweight against legend, future UFC Hall of Famer and former UFC light-heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, in Belfort's native Brazil. Gastelum knocked Belfort out in the very first round, but afterwards tested positive for marijuana and the fight's result was overturned to a no-contest. Gastelum was briefly suspended.
Gastelum next fought former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, having moments of brilliance/success against Weidman including a knockdown before eventually succumbing to the former champ's arm triangle choke submission.
Gastelum looked to rebound with a scheduled fight against another former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the UFC's first fight in mainland China. Unfortunately Silva tested positive for steroids from a random pre-fight testing and was understandably pulled from the bout shortly prior to its scheduled date. Recently dethroned (very recently as in a week or two before...), former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping stepped in to replace Silva. Gastelum knocked Bisping brutally unconscious in the fight's very first round, in the biggest victory of his career to date.
Fights[]
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Jake Ellenberger
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nate Marquardt
- Neil Magny vs. Kelvin Gastelum
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Johny Hendricks
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Tim Kennedy - The fight was Kelvin Gastelum's forced return to middleweight after missing weight at welterweight. After the fight Tim Kennedy retired from mixed martial arts.
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Ian Heinisch - The fight was something of a must-win for Kelvin Gastelum coming off several tough losses.