Kelvin Gastelum (16-6 MMA, 10-6, 1 NC UFC)
Welterweight (170lbs): 5-1, Missed weight 3x
Catchweight (180lbs): 0-1 (UFC)
Middleweight (185lbs) 5-4, 1 NC (UFC), Former UFC Interim Middlweight Title Challenger, TUF 17 Winner
Kelvin Gastelum has been with the UFC for a while now. He competed on, and won The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 back in 2012-2013 with a win over Uriah Hall. However, Gastelum immediately dropped down to the welterweight division. This was probably because of his 5’9″ stature, with just a 71.5″ reach. His stint at 170lbs didn’t exactly play out the way that Kelvin wanted it to. Kelvin missed weight three times— including coming in at a whopping 180lbs for an early 2015 bout with Tyron Woodley.
The after being forced by UFC brass to move up to middleweight for a fight, Kelvin moved back down to welterweight and was doing okay until he missed weight in Novemeber of 2016 against Donald Cerrone. This resulted in the cancellation of the bout and for Kelvin to permanently move up to middleweight. Kelvin was able to string together a couple of wins in 2017 and 2018 to get a shot at the interim belt against Israel Adesanya in one of the best fights of all time. Though Kelvin didn’t get the win, and is actually winless since 2018, the middleweight division is 100% where he belongs. Gastelum is much healthier and has been in every single fight that he has appeared in, win or lose.
Donald Cerrone addresses Kelvin Gastelum missing weight #UFC205 #UFCNYC pic.twitter.com/MbAqdJScLf
— Michael Allardyce (@mikedyce) November 11, 2016
