No stranger to issues on the scale, Kelvin Gastelum missed weight Friday – and it wasn’t a small number.
An “Ultimate Fighter” winner and one-time welterweight, Gastelum moved to middleweight years ago, a failed welterweight return notwithstanding. Friday, Gastelum (19-10 MMA, 13-10 UFC) came in at 191 pounds for his Noche UFC fight against Dustin Stoltzfus (16-7 MMA, 3-6 UFC), who had no issues on the scale at 185.5.
Stoltzfus accepted the bout at Gastelum’s higher weight and will take 35 percent of his fight purse on the main card at UFC Fight Night 259 (ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Gastelum has hinted that this may be his last fight. When he came to the room with less than 15 minutes left in the two-hour window, he stood on the scale and flexed at length while his final weight was dialed in. He did not appear to be drained from any kind of hard weight cut.
Gastelum first missed weight in the UFC as a welterweight in 2014 for a win over Nico Musoke. Seven months later, with a whole lot on the line at 11-0 against future welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, he came in at 180 pounds – a massive nine pounds over the limit. Then he had the first loss of his career.
The 33-year-old went to middleweight for one fight, then back to welterweight. But in 2016 at the history UFC 205 debut at Madison Square Garden, Gastelum missed weight for a fight against Donald Cerrone and missed the chance to fight on the card. He also was suspended by the NYSAC for that infraction for six months.
He returned to middleweight and eventually found himself in an interim title fight against Israel Adesanya. A loss there set in motion his current rut of seven setbacks in his past 10 fights. Various injuries have canceled fights for Gastelum in that stretch, as well.
