Athletes
Kelvin Gastelum: ‘I’m Still Here’
Former Title Challenger Kelvin Gastelum’s Sole Motivation Is Getting Back To Title Contention, Starting With A Win In Saudi Arabia.
When Kelvin Gastelum reflects on his UFC career, he is happy to say he checked a lot of the boxes he had when he won The Ultimate Fighter in April 2013. He fought in some of the biggest, most famous venues in the world. He shared the Octagon with some of the best fighters in multiple eras, from Michael Bisping and Johnny Hendricks to Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.
One thing continues to elude him, however: a UFC title.
“(That) is the only reason why I'm doing this still,” Gastelum said during his interview with UFC.com. “This is a very hard sport, and it doesn't get any easier with age.”
I can’t help but push back a little bit on the age comment.
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You’re only 32, I say, one of the fighters who falls into the “sneaky young” category, which gets a laugh out of the Yuma, Arizona native.
“I've done so much in my career,” he said. “I've done a lot of things. A lot of the things that I wanted to do before I even started fighting. I've done them except win UFC gold, and that's why we're still here.”
That push for another shot at the title is why he moved back down to welterweight after a successful run at middleweight, which included a legendary interim title fight with Israel Adesanya in April 2019. That fight was the near consensus pick for 2019’s Fight of the Year, but hard times followed. Since that bout, Gastelum is 2-7, and when he decided to move back down to 170 pounds, he tapped out to a Sean Brady submission.
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However, Gastelum is ever-resilient — a trait present in his day-to-day life as well as his attitude in the Octagon. Although his heart is fixed on getting back in form, he understands a title run is built fight-by-fight and win-by-win.
“I feel like my skills are where they need to be, and I’m feeling sharp,” Gastelum said. “I'm feeling good and ready for anything that may come this Saturday night.”
At UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Aliskerov, Gastelum makes a detour back to 185 pounds to face Daniel Rodriguez, who is desperate for a win in his own right. The 37-year-old made a quick climb after making his UFC debut in February 2020, scoring wins against Tim Means, Mike Perry and Kevin Lee in his first couple of years on the roster. Back-to-back losses to Neil Magny and Ian Machado Garry stymied his momentum, but he sees Gastelum as a marquee name that would put him back into the mix.
When thinking about the matchup, Gastelum respects Rodriguez’s boxing and defensive grappling, but also believes he is “a little bit better everywhere.”
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For Gastelum’s part, he is well-aware of where he is at in his career currently. A title fight is a ways down the road, and so his performance on June 22 needs to put him back on track. Nothing but a win will kickstart that second run for which he is so keen.
“I always want to make a statement, especially since I feel like I have my back up against the wall,” Gastelum said. “I want to be able to prove to everyone that I'm still here. I'm still very relevant.”
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Aliskerov took place live from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on June 22, 2024. See the final Prelim and Main Card results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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