Kelvin Gastelum Aiming For Vintage Performance At Noche UFC

In a certain way, that fight and the conflicted feelings Gastelum carries about it feel like an encapsulation of his career as a whole.

A diamond-in-the-rough prospect coming off his TUF win, he ran his record to 11-0 with victories in each of his first four appearances in the Octagon, only to miss weight and land on the wrong side of a split decision verdict against future champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 183. Weight management issues eventually sent him to middleweight, where after a couple quality outings, victories over recently dethroned former champ Michael Bisping and perennial contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, landed him opposite Adesanya in Atlanta, with the two men reaching the fifth round deadlocked on the scorecards.

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“The Last Stylebender” rose to the occasion, earning 10-8 scores across the board to claim the victory and the interim title, and Gastelum has been trying to get back to the level he showed in the middle frames of that fight ever since. As he’s done too often for his own liking since that historic battle, Gastelum enters Saturday’s bout with Stoltzfus at Frost Bank Center coming off a setback and looking to rebound, eager to showcase the improvements he’s made over the years and prove that he still has plenty to offer in the middleweight division.

“It takes practice and I’ve been through it before,” he said with an easy smile when asked about setting his June loss to Joe Pyfer and the frustrations of the past couple years behind him as he steps back into the fray this weekend. “I know exactly what I need to do to bounce back and I’ve done it before.

“It’s unfortunate that I haven’t been able to display how much better I’ve gotten over the years (lately), but I’ll take the highs with the lows and the lows with the highs. I just go along with what God has blessed me with, and I continue to put one foot in front of the other, fighting forward. I still have some objectives, some stuff to do in this sport, and I’m not going away yet.

“I still think I can accomplish some pretty cool stuff,” Gastelum added when asked to expand on his objectives and ambitions. “I want to get the ball rolling in this division, get some wins stacked up, and see where it goes from there. I can still compete at a high level, and I plan to show that this weekend. It’s unfortunate that I haven’t been able to show the evolution in the last few fights, but I feel like this time will be different.”

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For the 30-fight veteran, who has logged all but six of those appearances under the UFC banner, everything comes down to his mindset, and he feels like the abbreviated nature of his training camp ahead of Saturday’s Noche UFC event in San Antonio has been beneficial to putting him in a good position heading into the weekend.

“It was a short camp, but I liked it; I actually preferred it,” said Gastelum, a hint of surprise still lingering in his voice after condensing things this time around. “There was no easing into camp — it was straight grinding, and I enjoyed that. I think these little camps are something I’m going to start doing instead of these long, prolonged eight-,10-, 12-week camps that I usually do.

“I think it’s just mindset,” he said in regard to what has kept him from performing the way he believes he still can. “I’ve hit and miss where I’ve needed to be mentally these last few fights. I don’t know why — maybe it’s just been that trying to get the ball rolling again is really, really, really difficult.

“I’ve been in a few fights where my mindset is right, and I’ve been in a few fights where my mindset isn’t all there and I’m not able to execute the way that I want to execute. I think just finding that right mental space has been the difference. Right now, we’re in a great place; I’m happy with where we’re at, and I’m excited to compete and hopefully display some clear skills on Saturday.”

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He’s also excited to compete at Noche UFC for the first time, as well.

“It means a lot,” began Gastelum when asked about taking part in the UFC’s third such event. “I’m really thankful and really happy the UFC puts on these kinds of events because of the rich history of Mexican fighters in boxing and now we’re seeing it transition into MMA. At one point, the UFC had three Mexican champions, so the sport is definitely growing in Mexico and Latin America, so it’s cool that they’re putting on events like this to celebrate the culture that the Mexicans have always brought in combat sports.

“Just believing in my purpose and having faith in myself, in the unknown,” he said, explaining his process for leaving everything that is behind him there when he makes the walk this weekend. “Just going out there to execute is my mindset. Forgetting the past is difficult, but I know what I need to do and I need to execute; that’s it.”

And what does he expect from himself should that come to pass this weekend?

“Oh man,” he said, his ever-present smile growing wider, “it’s gonna look like Vintage KG. I’m excited.”