Kelvin Gastelum made the long flight to Melbourne, Australia with the belief that he would be challenging Robert Whittaker for the middleweight championship in front of a sold-out Rod Laver Arena at UFC 234. Gastelum made the trip with the intention of returning to the States with some extra luggage in the form of UFC gold.
As it happens, Kelvin Gastelum did don some UFC gold while in Australia, the only problem is the common perception among observers and those in the know is that the belt was a rental from flyweight champion Henry Cejudo. With Cejudo’s championship returned to its rightful owner, Gastelum was eventually assured that he still would not leave empty-handed after all, according to manager Ali Abdelaziz:
“I just talked to Dana White and they are taking care of Kelvin, financially,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “He’s very happy.”
The amount is said to be in the six figures, though no specific number was disclosed. What was specified, however, was when Kelvin Gastelum would like to rebook his title fight against Robert Whittaker:
“I heard Whittaker can start training in five weeks, and we are looking to get this fight rebooked between June or July.” Abdelaziz said.
Of course Robert Whittaker is fresh out of hernia surgery, and there is no concrete timeline for his return. Medical experts have projected recovery for a hernia surgery to be roughly four to six weeks. If Whittaker’s recovery falls within this ball park, a June or July rebooking would seem realistic.
Do you believe the UFC should try rebooking Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum again? Or should they move on to another contender, such as Israel Adesanya?
