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Kelvin Gastelum has explained why he was hesitant before accepting to fight Darren Till at UFC 244 later this year.
Top UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum has explained why he was hesitant to accept a fight against former welterweight title challenger Darren Till.
It was announced in late August that Gastelum and Till will meet at UFC 244 in November, however the opponent for Till’s debut at middleweight drew a lot of questioning. Nevertheless, UFC president Dana White was adamant it was the fight that Till wanted.
Talking to MMA Junkie, Gastelum said he was unsure if a win over Till will even push him any closer to a title shot given the Liverpudlian is moving up in weight, and is on a two-fight losing streak.
“I put a lot of thought on who my opponent is and why I’m fighting him, and will it get me to the title shot — will it get me closer to where I want to go,” Gastelum said.
“I definitely asked those questions, and none of them applied to Darren Till. I don’t think if I win — it’s not going to get me a title shot. It’s not getting me closer. But I just think I need to go out there and make a statement against a guy like Darren Till because of my last performance. I want to go out there, I want to show that I’m still hungry, I’m still in contention, and I’m still one of the best guys around at this weight class.”
Gastelum continued by saying he doesn’t think Till will have an easy time jumping up to 185-pounds, and he also expects a short fight and doesn’t want to get into a war like he did against Israel Adesanya in their Fight of the Year contender at UFC 236 in April.
“It’s a little scary,” he said. “The guys are a little bit bigger, they hit a little harder, but they are a little slower. It’s a little scary. I don’t think it’ll be an easy transition for him. I think he’s going to have trouble with these bigger guys and competing at this weight class, to be honest.
“I’m expecting a short fight,” he concluded. “I’m not trying to go and have another war. I’m going to work hard to try so I can be able to put this guy away.”