Kelvin Gastelum is open to making his return to welterweight against Shavkat Rakhmonov.
After announcing that he plans on moving back down to 170 pounds, Gastelum was challenged by undefeated contender Rakhmonov (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC). Gastelum (18-8 MMA, 12-8 UFC) will return to welterweight for the first time since 2016. After some thought, “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner welcomes the challenge.
“My Twitter was going off. I’m like, ‘What the heck is going on?’ And all of a sudden I see a tweet from Shavkat Rakhmonov,” Gastelum said on his YouTube channel. “I thought it was interesting. I like the callout. I appreciate the callout. I thought it was a little boring.
“He could have added a little spice to it, but I like the fight. I mean, these are the kind of fights that I want in the welterweight division. This puts me right in the mix, swimming with the sharks. It’s either sink or swim.”
Rakhmonov most recently competed in March when he submitted Geoff Neal at UFC 285 in Las Vegas. Gastelum is coming off a hard-fought Fight of the Night win against Chris Curtis at UFC 287, and he suggests the fight with Rakhmonov happens on a specific card in September.
“This puts me up there with some really fun fights given I win this, which I will,” Gastelum continued. “Officially I accept, Shavkat Rakhmonov, your challenge at 170 pounds. Not only that, I’ll give you a date. Dana (White) was talking about doing a huge Mexican Independence Day event in Las Vegas, which happens to be September 16 on the dot.
“Me, being an outstanding Mexican-American, I would gladly represent where my people have come from and where we’re going. Sep. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena, wherever it may be. As your man in Kazakhstan, GGG (Gennady Golovkin) would say, ‘Big drama show.’ Let’s get it on. I accept, Shavkat. I accept your challenge.”
Although Rakhmonov has been on a tear while boasting a 100 percent finish rate, Gastelum thinks his pressure style would pose problems.
“I think stylistically I’m horrible for him,” Gastelum said. “He comes forward. He’s very sloppy sometimes, and I’m going to be able to capitalize on that. I’m either going to land these two (raises fists) or take his ass down and submit him.
“I don’t know which way I’ll win. I’m not going to sit here and lie and say that he’s not a difficult opponent, because he is. The man can take a beating. But I can’t wait to be the one to actually put the ‘1’ next to his undefeated record. I just think I’m a horrible matchup.”
