Gastelum back at 170 on condition he hires nutritionist
“He gave me the fight I wanted against Matt Brown in Monterrey and told me, ‘You better make 170.’ I said, ‘Send me the contract right now, I promise I won’t let you down.'”
UFC fighter Kelvin Gastelum won TUF 17 at middleweight, but promptly dropped to welterweight, which by appearances was the right division. Under the direction of Mike Dolce, Gastelum made weight his first time time out welterweight, and beat Brian Melancon.
He then dropped Dolce from his coaching staff, and made weight only on his second try, and got a split decision win over Rick Story. Next fight he missed weight vs. Nico Musoke by two pounds, and the bout was held at a catchweight.
Gastelum then reached out to Dolce, to help him prepare for Jake Ellenberger. Dolce said he was booked, but Kelvin made weight, and won via choke in the first. At this point he was surging, and a fight was booked with Tyron Woodley, with potential title implications.
Once again without Dolce, Gastelum failed to make welterweight, this time by 4 pounds, and then lost to Woodley via Split Decision.
UFC president Dana White then bumped Gastelum to middleweight, where he beat Nate Marquart. However, he knew that he would not find his greatest success at 185.
I think I can either be a mediocre middleweight, or I can be the welterweight champion, said the fighter to John Morgan for MMAjunkie. And I want to be the welterweight champion.
I plan on going back (to welterweight) and getting in the boss’ good graces after this Saturday night. Honestly, I don’t think I can beat Weidman, or Rockhold or Jacare. Those guys are beasts.”
Now Gastelum is back in White’s good graces.
The UFC announced Gastelum would fight Matt Brown in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Nov. 21 in Monterrey, Mexico — at 170 pounds.
What changed? According to Gastelum, the UFC agreed to book him to the welterweight fight only after a phone conversation between he and White, during which Gastelum promised to hire a full-time nutritionist.
“I asked for the fight against Matt Brown,” Gastelum told ESPN.com. “At first, oe Silva told me no. A couple weeks later, Dana called. He actually gave me the fight I wanted against Matt Brown in Monterrey and told me, ‘You better make 170.’ I said, ‘Send me the contract right now, I promise I won’t let you down.'”
Gastelum, 23, has enlisted the services of nutrition expert George Lockhart ahead of his return to welterweight.
“I hadn’t proven, to that point, that I would be willing to cut to 170, so I think [White] was right,” Gastelum said. “He did kind of a punch to the face [with his comments], but that’s fine. Sometimes you need that.
“It has taken me awhile to learn the process of how nutrition and dieting works. I’ve learned from mistakes. I’ve grown from it. Now, I need to apply it.”
“You pretty much embrace it’s going to be a war. So, that’s what I’m going to prepare for — a 25-minute war. Obviously, you want to the win as quickly as possible but I know that’s not the case with Matt Brown. He has fought the best in the world. He’s one of the best in the world. I feel like I’ve gained experience, I’ve made mistakes and grown from them and I feel now it’s my time to really make a run.
“[I asked for Brown] both because of his rank and style. I think our styles mesh up real good — kind of a [Robbie] Lawler vs. [Rory] MacDonald fight. That’s what I envision in my head.”
