Kelvin Gastelum says he will fight Shavkat Rakhmonov, aims for UFC Mexican Independence Day card
Longtime UFC fighter Kelvin Gastelum says that he will fight rising star Shavkat Rakhmonov, aiming to fight on the UFC Mexican Independence Day card.
Gastelum is currently the No. 11 ranked middleweight, but he has made it known that he will be dropping down to the welterweight division for his next fight, a division he previously fought in. The No. 6 welterweight is Rakhmonov, who not many people want to fight. But Gastelum is putting his hand up and saying he wants to take this matchup.
Taking to his YouTube channel, Gastelum officially made his callout for Rakhmonov.
“I like the callout. I appreciate the call out. I thought it was a little boring. He could have added a little spice to it, but I like the fight. These are the kind of fights that I want in the welterweight division. This puts me right in the mix, swimming with the sharks. It’s either sink or swim. I like this fight. I think he’s ranked No. 5 or No. 6 in the welterweight division. This puts me up there with some really fun fights, given I win this, which I will,” Gastelum said (via MMAFighting.com).
“It’s been a couple weeks since the tweet. I’ve been on vacation so it’s taken me some time to address it, but now it’s time for me to address it and officially accept the challenge,” continued Gastelum. “I accept, Shavkat Rakhmonov, your challenge at 170 pounds, and not only that, I’ll give you a date. Dana was talking about doing a huge Mexican Independence Day event in Las Vegas, which happens to be Sep. 16 on the dot, and me being an outstanding Mexican America, I would gladly represent where me people have come from and where we’re going. Sep. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena, wherever it may be, as your man in Kazakhstan, (Gennady Golovkin) would say, ‘Big drama show.’ Let’s get it on. I accept, Shavkat. I accept your challenge.”
Who do you think would win a welterweight bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Shavkat Rakhmonov?
