Kelvin Gastelum became a winner of The Ultimate Fighter earlier this year by upsetting Uriah Hall in the tournament finale, but it seems things will get no easier for him moving forward.
Having resolved to make the transition from middleweight to welterweight, Gastelum will be welcomed to his new division by submission specialist Paulo Thiago.
News of the fight was reported by sportv.globo.com and confirmed by Gastelum via Twitter (h/t MMAJunkie.com).
Thiago will enter the match coming off a win, something that has become a rarity for him of late. Prior to his recent UFC on FX 8 victory over Michel Richard dos Prazeres, the 32-year-old had dropped four of five contests.
Still, he remains a dangerous opponent, especially for one as youthful and inexperienced as Gastelum.
Having mixed it up with many of the elite at 170 pounds, Thiago is most certainly not a guy to underestimate—even if the results haven’t been there for him lately.
For his part, Gastelum‘s unlikely TUF victory opened a lot of eyes. It took him the full 15 minutes to procure victory, but in the grand scheme of things, that isn’t a long time to transform from stepping stone to future star.
Now, with the “prospect” stamp on his forehead, the American will try to build on the momentum he generated back in April.
The reported bout between Thiago and Gastelum is expected to be a part of August 28’s UFC on Fox Sports 1 card, which will mark the second time the promotion airs on the network.
The event is set to be headlined by a contest between Martin Kampmann and Carlos Condit.
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