Tag: Kelvin Gastelum

Kelvin Gastelum Calls Out Anderson Silva For UFC On FOX 25

UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum was preparing for the biggest fight of his life as he was expecting to fight MMA legend and former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 212 on June 3 from Brazil. However, Gastelum as removed from that bout due to a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation for marijuana.

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UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum was preparing for the biggest fight of his life as he was expecting to fight MMA legend and former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 212 on June 3 from Brazil. However, Gastelum as removed from that bout due to a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation for marijuana. Now, Gastelum is coming near to the end of his suspension and is almost clear with USADA. Now, he is hoping to reschedule his bout with Silva at UFC on FOX 25 on July 22 from Long Island, New York.

Gastelum threw down the challenge on Twitter as seen here:

“My apologies and respects to @SpiderAnderson, I Can’t make it to the dance in Rio, how about we dance in New York in July? @ufc @UFCONFOX.”

Here is the tricky part of the situation. Silva, who last defeated Derek Brunson at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, recently demanded an interim title shot against top contender Yoel Romero. If he does not get the fight, then he claims he would walk away from fighting. To say that Silva is a little bit upset would be an understatement. A bout with Gastelum could be the fight that may be intriguing enough for Silva considering the two were already supposed to fight.

As of this writing, the UFC has yet to announce the main event for UFC on FOX 25, and with the UFC needing strong main events, Gastelum vs. Silva could very well headline UFC on FOX 25. Only two bouts have been officially announced by the UFC so adding this bout would be in the promotion’s best interest.

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Shogun Rua Would Fight Anderson Silva, But Not At UFC 212

Longtime former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is still searching for an opponent at May 13’s UFC 212 from Rio de Janeiro after his original foe Kelvin Gastelum was forced out of the bout due to a failed drug test. “The Spider” recently proclaimed he would retire if the UFC didn’t grant him an interim

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Longtime former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is still searching for an opponent at May 13’s UFC 212 from Rio de Janeiro after his original foe Kelvin Gastelum was forced out of the bout due to a failed drug test.

“The Spider” recently proclaimed he would retire if the UFC didn’t grant him an interim title fight with top contender Yoel Romero on the card, but nothing has been made official as Silva waits in the wings. Potential opponents like Luke Rockhold and Vitor Belfort were teased but never officially signed, and now another former champion is expressing his interest at fighting Silva.

It just won’t be at UFC 212, however, as former lgith heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua told Tatame (via Bloody Elbow) that while he respects “The Spider” and would definitely fight him, the timeframe for UFC 212 is approaching too fast:

“I would be thrilled to accept a fight against Anderson Silva, but not in Rio. There’s only a few weeks to go before UFC 212 and I’m not psychologically ready to do a fight camp right now. If I had two months to train, then yes, I would. I really respect Anderson as an athlete, he’s a guy who deserves my respect, but I’d fight him. I’m a professional, above all things.”

Thought to be done as a top UFC contender after a down run, Rua has quietly rebounded with three straight wins with his most recent an impressive stoppage of Gian Villante at March’s UFC Fight Night Fortaleza. With the streak in tow in arguably the most talent-starved division in MMA, Rua announced he’s looking to avenge his knockout loss to Ovince Saint Preux:

“I don’t have any specific names on my mind, but I have a loss against Ovince Saint Preux that’s been bugging me ever since. I think he’s a good fighter, an icon, and he deserves all my respect. He’s big for the division, but the way I lost against him left me very sad. I’m not saying I’m better or worse than him, I was sad with the way it was. So I would like a rematch against Saint Preux in the near future, yes.”

It’s a fight that could make sense to book as the division’s title picture (possibly) gets sorted between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones this summer, but the quick and devastating nature of Saint Preux’s win over Rua could hold back a rematch.

Still, Rua has momentum on his side, and Saint Preux only just rebounded from a disappointing three-fight slide that followed his win over the Brazilian MMA legend.

Should the former Pride Grand Prix bulldozer wait for Silva, or is Saint Preux a better avenue for him to take?

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Kelvin Gastelum Targets Anderson Silva Fight Once Again

Kelvin Gastelum still wants his shot at former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The question now is, does “The Spider?” Gastelum and Silva were once scheduled to meet in June at UFC 212 from Brazil. However, after the former Ultimate Fighter winner came under the watchful eye of the USADA, the bout was scratched. Now, […]

Kelvin Gastelum still wants his shot at former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The question now is, does “The Spider?” Gastelum and Silva were once scheduled to meet in June at UFC 212 from Brazil. However, after the former Ultimate Fighter winner came under the watchful eye of the USADA, the bout was scratched. Now, […]

Report: UFC Considering Catchweight Bout For Anderson Silva At UFC 212

Former longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was scheduled to face rising contender Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212 on June 3 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but Gastelum was recently forced to withdraw from the bout after being flagged by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) for a potential anti-doping violation. The UFC has expressed interest

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Former longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was scheduled to face rising contender Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212 on June 3 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but Gastelum was recently forced to withdraw from the bout after being flagged by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) for a potential anti-doping violation.

The UFC has expressed interest in keeping Silva on the card and names like Luke Rockhold and Vitor Belfort were thrown out as potential replacements for Gastelum, but “The Spider” didn’t seem interested in either scenario.

Now, however, an idea has emerged out of the blue. According to a report from the Brazilian outlet Combate, the UFC is considering a 195-pound catchweight bout between Silva and No. 8-ranked light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux.

Saint Preux is coming off of an impressive Von Flue choke victory over Marcos Rogerio de Lima last week at UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to that, he had lost three straight bouts to the likes of Jon Jones, Jimi Manuwa and Volkan Oezdemir.

It’s currently unclear if Silva, who’s coming off of a decision victory over Derek Brunson, is interested in fighting OSP.

Is this a bout that intrigues you?

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Luke Rockhold Reacts To Anderson Silva Denying To Fight Him

The UFC is still scrambling to find an opponent for longtime former champion Anderson Silva at May 13’s UFC 212 from Rio after his originally scheduled opponent Kelvin Gastelum was forced out when he failed a USADA drug test for marijuana metabolites. Names like Silva’s former foil Vitor Belfort and former champion Luke Rockhold were

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The UFC is still scrambling to find an opponent for longtime former champion Anderson Silva at May 13’s UFC 212 from Rio after his originally scheduled opponent Kelvin Gastelum was forced out when he failed a USADA drug test for marijuana metabolites.

Names like Silva’s former foil Vitor Belfort and former champion Luke Rockhold were teased as potential replacement opponents, and indeed word arrived that ‘the process of booking Silva vs. Rockhold’ was underway. But ‘The Spider’ soon came out with a reason why he didn’t want to fight either of those top names, noting that he was coming off a win (a highly controversial decision win over Derek Brunson at UFC 208) and they were both coming off a loss.

Rockhold discussed the disappointing news with Submission Radio (via Bloody Elbow), citing Silva’s actually questionable record over the past years and then shifting his focus towards finding a top-ranked opponent to get him back into title contention:

“He made an excuse saying I’m coming off a loss and (he’s) coming off a win, but if you look at his record he’s [1-4 (1 NC)] in his last five fights, six fights and his win is questionable, so I don’t know where he is. He’s justifying that case is kind of… I don’t really understand that justification. So I’m just coming off a title loss and going five and one against the best guys in the world. So yeah, good luck with that one. But we’re moving on to UFC 213 and we’re trying to find a contender, somebody who’s up there, somebody who wants to get dirty and get back to that title and that’s what I want.”

Photo – Ed Mulholland for USA TODAY Sports

While his desired match with Silva has apparently fallen by the wayside, there are still some very intriguing match-ups on the table for him in No. 1 Yoel Romero and rising No. 3 Robert Whittaker. But roadblocks remain in a potential fight against both, as Romero has stated he’ll wait for his much-deserved title shot while Whittaker recently said Rockhold’s target date of July’s UFC 213 might be too fast a turnaround for him after he stormed into title contender status by knocking out Jacare Souza at UFC on FOX 24 on April 22.

There’s always a solid match-up with rising No. 4-ranked Gegard Mousasi, but again, “The Dreamcatcher” still has to take care of a new contract with the UFC before agreeing to any bout. And with Michael Bisping set to take on Georges St-Pierre at a yet-to-be-determined date and locale, the UFC’s middleweight division is as big a mess as any division has ever been in MMA.

Who should Rockhold fight next?

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Kelvin Gastelum Pulled from UFC 212 Anderson Silva Fight After Drug Test

Kelvin Gastelum has been pulled from a scheduled fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 212 on June 3 due to potentially failing a drug test. 
Per an official statement from UFC, Gastelum failed a United States Anti-Doping Agency-administered drug te…

Kelvin Gastelum has been pulled from a scheduled fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 212 on June 3 due to potentially failing a drug test. 

Per an official statement from UFC, Gastelum failed a United States Anti-Doping Agency-administered drug test for having traces of marijuana in his sample. The company placed him on a provisional suspension. 

      

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