Kelvin Gastelum has had a history of weight cutting issues. The fighter punched his ticket to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) by winning The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 17 as a middleweight. Due to his size, Gastelum moved down to welterweight.
Unfortunately at times his issues on the scale have overshadowed his talent. He missed weight for his fight with Nico Musoke back in June 2014. He then missed weight by nine pounds for his bout with Tyron Woodley. The final straw was when his UFC 205 scrap with Donald Cerrone had to be canceled due to how much he missed the weight limit.
Gastelum was forced to move back up.
At UFC 206, he went toe-to-toe with Tim Kennedy. It was a one-sided thrashing that saw Gastelum improve his record to 13-2. Speaking with Bloody Elbow, Gastelum believes he can fight at both 170 and 185:
“I don’t see why I can’t be competing in both weight classes. I felt great at 185. I feel I can excel at this weight, and I feel I beat the top guys at this weight. I remember a few years back, I wasn’t very confident in my abilities. But now, a few years have passed, and I’m pretty confident in my abilities, confident in my skills to know that I can compete with the best middleweights and also the best welterweights.”
When it comes to his weight cutting history, Gastelum takes full responsibility. He feels he has made positives strides in keeping the weight off
“When I’m outside of camp, I gain 40 or 50 pounds above my weight class. It shouldn’t have to be that way, and that’s on me. I go out and I eat all this delicious Mexican food. It’s just little changes of habits (and) lifestyle. So far I’ve been able to do well. I did well in the holidays that just passed; I did pretty good, surprisingly.”
