Gastelum vs. Imavov is a great fight to bring in the new year.
The UFC is building its schedule for 2023 and we have our first headliner of the year.
La Sueur in France reports Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov are expected to share the Octagon at an upcoming UFC Fight Night scheduled for Jan. 14, with a location and venue soon to be determined. Gastelum confirmed the report on his social media.
“Like Arnold Schwarzenegger, baby I am back,” wrote Gastelum.
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger baby I am back #OnAmission4Gold https://t.co/8c4yi6pqA3
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) September 28, 2022
The pair was originally supposed to fight at UFC 273 in April, but an injury to Gastelum and VISA issues for Imavov forced them off the event entirely.
Gastelum is 1-5 in his past six appearances, with the sole win being a unanimous decision against Ian Heinisch at UFC 258 over a year ago. The Ultimate Fighter 17 finalist has suffered back-to-back losses to Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier at UFC Vegas 24 and UFC Vegas 34 recently.
Since then, Gastelum has remained on the sidelines after undergoing surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee.
Imavov extended his win streak to three with a unanimous decision over Joaquin Buckley at UFC Paris earlier this month. Prior to that, the MMA Factory product rebounded from his only loss in the UFC with consecutive second-round TKOs of the aforementioned Heinisch and Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Vegas 32 and UFC 268.
Gastelum and Imavov are ranked at No. 11 and No. 12, respectively.
With the addition of Gastelum vs. Imavov, the UFC Fight Night now has two confirmed fights. The other is between flyweights Jeff Molina and Jimmy Flick.