The UFC made its first trek to the high altitude of Mexico City on Saturday night for UFC 180, where Fabricio Werdum became the interim heavyweight champion in the night’s main event. In the co-main event, Kelvin Gastelum put in a star-making performance when he submitted Jake Ellenberger in the final minute of the first round.
Gastelum came into the fight with an undefeated record of 9-0 and was going up against his toughest opponent to date. What did we learn from this welterweight clash?
Gastelum Is a Top 10 Welterweight
The biggest thing we learned is that Gastelum is legit. Ellenberger has had 12 prior UFC fights against some of the best welterweights in the world. None of them finished The Juggernaut as emphatically as Gastelum did. None put Ellenberger away in the first round.
Gastelum did it with ease.
Heading into this fight, we knew Gastelum was a very talented prospect, and at 23 years old, he has plenty of time to grow into a top-level mixed martial artist. At UFC 180 we learned that the speed of that growth continues to accelerate.
Ellenberger Won’t Be Fighting for the Title Anytime Soon
This was a must-win fight for Ellenberger. His lackluster decision loss to Rory MacDonald and third-round TKO loss to Robbie Lawler left him with his back against the wall. Now he’s on the dreaded three-fight losing streak. Though I don’t foresee him getting cut from the UFC altogether, he has a steep climb to get back to where he once was near the top of the welterweight division.
Gastelum Deserves Someone in the Top Five
Sometimes when young fighters get pushed too fast into fights against savvy veterans, even in victory, they show holes in their game, and their weaknesses become more glaring. Not the case with Gastelum. This was the stiffest test he’s faced in his career, and he passed it with flying colors. He was just as quick and light on his feet as Ellenberger, and he wasted no time going for the finish when he saw the opening.
He deserves an opponent in the Top Five, and a fight with the returning Carlos Condit or perhaps Tyron Woodley would be great for Gastelum to quickly get in position for a title shot.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com