Kelvin Gastelum (15-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) will head down under to face UFC middleweight champion Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) on Sunday, February the 9th in Melbourne, Australia to wry the middleweight title away from the up and coming Aussie. This fight will either solidify Whittaker as the UFC’s main attraction or announce the arrival of a new threat in Gastelum. You won’t want to miss out, so head over to our sportsbook and make a wager before tuning in. Of note, because of the time change, the event will air on Saturday in the US.
Twenty-seven-year-old Gastelum will be getting his best shot yet at making a name for himself.
“It’s kind of interesting,” Gastelum said. “Obviously, I’m super excited for the opportunity and super excited for the fight, but it’s not quite the feeling that I thought it would be once the time came. It kind of feels just like any other big fight that I’ve had. You know, I’ve had some pretty big fights before in my career, and it kind of feels like that. I guess I’m just not letting myself get caught up in all of it, not making too much of it – as much as I probably should – in my own head.”
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Gastelum is a consummate worker, having severely cut his weight on other occasions to classify as a welterweight. Whittaker should expect him to be prepared for a championship bout. Gastelum even arrived in Australia two weeks ahead of the fight to acclimate himself.
Gastelum, who currently ranks 7th in USA Today’s poll, has gone so far as to predict a first-round knockout of the current champ. He will have a tough time living up to that prediction, however.
Whittaker is still the favorite. He is competent in all areas of the sport, has no holes and will be fighting in front of his home crowd. The Australian audience will no doubt be pumped up to see their man win. Whittaker has a 14-1 record on home soil (including both Australia and New Zealand bouts) and will be fighting for the first time since last June when he defeated Yoel Romero in a knock-down, drag-out fight one year after their first encounter in which Whittaker won the title. Saturday’s match will be Whittaker’s first official defense of the undisputed middleweight championship since he captured the title in 2017.
Meanwhile, Gastelum faces questions about his history coming into the match. He has been a good fighter but has not had a big win that would convince promoters that he is a deserving champ. In his two most recent matches, he beat Michael Bisping when Bisping had only 17 days to prepare. His latest fight was a split decision to Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza in UFC 224. Before 2017, his wins have come against Tim Kennedy, Jonny Hendricks and Vitor Belfort, but he has lost to Chris Wideman in three rounds in July of 2017. Gastelum will need to win convincingly in order to solidify his standing as a true top fighter.