Kelvin Gastelum shows interest in replacing Paulo Costa to fight Robert Whittaker
Kelvin Gastelum is looking to finally get the chance to fight Robert Whittaker.
At UFC 234, Gastelum was expected to challenge Whittaker for the middleweight title. Yet, on the day of the fight it was revealed Whittaker was out of the fight and Gastelum was forced to fight Israel Adesanya two months later for the interim title. Gastelum ended up losing that fight and Whittaker went on to lose his belt to “The Last Stylebender” and the fight was never made.
Now, however, after it was revealed that Paulo Costa was out of his April 17 fight against Robert Whittaker, Gastelum sent out a cryptic tweet showing interest in stepping up on short notice.
#OnAmission4Gold pic.twitter.com/WJ6xheM2nY
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) March 16, 2021
If the UFC wants to keep Whittaker on the April 17 card, having Gastelum step up certainly makes sense. However, the UFC could look to see what happens this weekend as Kevin Holland will no doubt want to make a quick turnaround if he wins. Whittaker could also wait to fight Costa or possibly hold out for a title shot which he no doubt deserves.
Kelvin Gastelum returned to the win column back at UFC 258 as he edged out a decision win over Ian Heinisch. Before that, he lost three fights in a row as he was submitted by Jack Hermansson, a decision loss to Darren Till, and the decision loss to Israel Adesanya. At middleweight, he also has wins over Jacare Souza and Michael Bisping among others.
Robert Whittaker, meanwhile, has gone on a two-fight winning streak since losing his belt to Adesanya. He beat both Till and Jared Cannonier by decision and has proven himself to be the second-best middleweight on the roster. He has also beaten most of the middleweight contenders but Gastelum is someone who he hasn’t fought yet and it would be an intriguing five-round fight.
