Kelvin Gastelum is back in the win column and looking to fight someone ranked ahead of him.
On the main card of UFC 258, Gastelum was fighting the 15th-ranked, Ian Heinisch. It was a pivotal fight for Gastelum who was on a three-fight losing streak and said he was fighting for his job.
Ultimately, it was Gastelum who got the job done by unanimous decision. It was a good performance from the former interim title challenger who mixed his wrestling and striking to win the fight.
Although Gastelum got his hand raised he wasn’t too impressed with his performance. Yet, he is looking to fight ahead of him next time out as hopes to be the backup fighter for Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa.
“I’ll have to go back and talk to my team, talk to my management, talk to Dana (White), and see what the options are from here,” Gastelum said at the UFC 258 post-fight press conference. “I did mention if anyone steps out in the Robert Whittaker-Paulo Costa fight, I’d be willing to step up if something happens to either one of those fighters.”
Whittaker and Costa are set to fight on April 17 but reports have came out that the fight might be moved until April 10. The timing does make sense for Gastelum to either be on the card or just weigh-in as the backup. He also has a history with Whittaker as they were supposed to fight at UFC 234 for the middleweight title but the then champ had to pull out on the day of the fight.
Who do you think Kelvin Gastelum should fight next?
