Kelvin Gastelum is making a big change following his loss to Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC on FOX 25.
Since he was forced to move up to middleweight, he never thought that the division would lend to the maximization of his fighting potential. His latest bout only further reinforced that notion.
If you recall, Gastelum was essentially booted out of the welterweight division by UFC President Dana White after he missed weight for a third time this past November. Even though he was not a fan of the weight change, he did have some good performances at the weight class.
Coming into UFC on FOX 25, he was unbeaten at middleweight, but his loss to Weidman seemed like it was due to the fact that he was overmatched in the size and strength departments.
“He felt really big, he felt really strong,” Gastelum told reporters at the UFC on FOX 25 post-fight news conference, which MMAjunkie attended. “These things happen. Coming into the fight, you’ve got a 50 percent chance of winning and you’ve got a 50 percent chance of losing. He caught me fair and square.”
Gastelum is being the bigger man and taking this loss as graciously as one could. Following the fight, he noted how it was an eye-opening experience and that at welterweight he feels he can be UFC champion. This outcome of his latest bout provided further evidence in his mind. Now, Gastelum said he’s going to campaign to again move down in weight, but this time he’ll make sure to do it right.
“I feel like 170 is my home,” Gastelum said. “I feel like I need to reassess some things (and) change my lifestyle up a little bit. I’m already planning on going to (Las) Vegas to the UFC (Performance) Institute. They have great dietitians there that I’m going to be working with and strength and conditioning coaches that I’m going to be working with. I think my next fight should be 170.”
According to the UFC fighter, he believes that he would have finished the fight had there been slightly more time on the clock. Even though he believes that he will accept the result and will move forward in a different weight class.
“I wanted 30 more seconds, and I could have finished the fight,” Gastelum said. “But it’s OK. These things happen.”
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