Despite missing the required UFC 205 official weigh-ins before the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), resulting in a suspension that was decided upon on Monday, former Ultimate Fighter Champion Kelvin Gastelum may already have his next Octagon assignment.
According to a report at MMAFighting.com with information from Ariel Helwani, Gastelum is the UFC’s “top choice” to be the replacement opponent for Tim Kennedy at next month’s UFC 206: Cormier vs. Johnson 2 event following Rashad Evans being pulled from the fight yet again by the Ontario Commission this week. They are reportedly aware of the NYSAC “administrative suspension” given to Gastelum today, yet still have him as their top choice to replace Evans.
Gastelum was handed down a six-month suspension by the NYSAC on Monday, however the suspension is an “administrative suspension,” different from the usual “commission suspensions” that are given to fighters on most occasions. Additionally, Gastelum has not been suspended across the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) database.
The former TUF Champion who won the longtime UFC reality show at 185 pounds, had difficulty with his weight-cut leading up to his scheduled fight against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden in New York City earlier this month, and as a result, failed to show up to the mandatory weigh-ins.
It’s worth pointing out that Gastelum’s team, according to the aforementioned tweeted by Helwani (see below), is “emphatically saying” that he will only be doing one fight at 185 pounds and then will be heading back to 170 pounds, despite UFC President Dana White saying UFC would never promote him at 170 pounds again after the weigh-in issues.
UFC 206 takes place on Saturday, December 10th at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada featuring the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.