It might be a short notice fight, booked a month or so out, but Kelvin Gastelum once again missed weight ahead of Noche UFC on Saturday, this time for what should have been a middleweight contest against Dustin Stoltzfus.
We’ve been here before, and Gastelum might have been given a pass, especially given his recent induction into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing, had this not happened time and time (and time) again.
ROUND 1: Neither fighter waited too long to get the action started. Gastelum opened with a left to the body, which Stoltzfus answered with a solid body kick. The Mexican-American then showcased his hand speed and landed a nice combination. Stoltzfus’s power was on display, while Kelvin’s speed allowed him to fire and land combinations. Both fighters were doing a good job of mixing their targets between the legs, body and head. Stoltzfus then mixed in a level change in the final minute of the round. He threw in a couple choke attempts for good measure that Gastelum saw coming from a mile away.
ROUND 2: Gastelum came out in the second and landed two consecutive left hands, the second one hurting Stoltzfus. Wisely taking his time, Gastelum had figured out Stoltzfus’ timing and landed a solid counter left that wobbled him. Stoltzfus then showed some life and fired a combination that partially landed and reminded Kelvin of the power he possesses. The former interim title challenger then knocked Stoltzfus down in eerily similar fashion to how he KO’d Michael Bisping. But Stoltzfus managed to survive by successfully getting a takedown. He used his top pressure to threaten Gastelum’s neck. Stotlzfus ended the round firing big shots on a kneeling Gastelum.
ROUND 3: Kelvin put the pressure on Stoltzfus right away to start the third round. He landed a nice left hand to the body and stuffed Stoltzfus’ takedown attempt. However, Stoltzfus refused to go away and landed a solid shot. Kelvin went back to what worked in the second round. He kept baiting shots out of Stoltzfus to then use his speed to land counters. But Stoltzfus took them and started landing counters of his own. A body kick to Gastelum’s body that resonated throughout the arena was immediately answered with a left hand to Stoltzfus’ neck. How fitting that such a back-and-forth of a fight ended with both fighters landed strike on each other at the buzzer?
In the end, Kelvin Gastelum got the nod. Not unliked his last win before that, it was overshadowed by the big weight miss.
Official Result: Kelvin Gastelum def. Dustin Stoltzfus by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
