Kelvin Gastelum issues statement, requests persmission to return to welterweight

Kelvin Gastelum (13-3, 1 no-contest) suffered a third-round submission loss to former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC on FOX 25 last night on Long Island, New York.

The setback snapped Gastelum’s impressive three-fight win streak, which had seen Kelvin score TKO victories over Tim Kennedy and Vitor Belfort, as well as a decision win over former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks.

Although Gastelum was able to drop Weidman in the late stages of round one, it was clear that the 25-year-old was undersized when compared to the “All American”.

Kelvin (5’9″) was 5 inches shorter than his opponent Weidman (6’2″) and also gave up a huge 6.5″ reach advantage to the former middleweight champion of the world.

With that said, Gastelum was nothing but respectful following the setback, issuing the following statement on social media while congratulating Weidman on the victory.

Damn, @ChrisWeidmanUFC is a beast!! Congratulations to you sir! #UFCLongIand

— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) July 23, 2017

At the UFC on FOX 25 post-fight press conference, Kelvin Gastelum spoke about his size disadvantage when competing at middleweight and requested that the promotion let him return to welterweight.

“He felt really big, he felt really strong. These things happen. Coming into the fight, you’ve got a 50 percent chance of winning and you’ve got a 50 percent chance of losing. He caught me fair and square.”

Kelvin continued:

“I feel like 170 is my home. I feel like I need to reassess some things and change my lifestyle up a little bit. I’m already planning on going to Las Vegas to the UFC Performance Institute. They have great dietitians there that I’m going to be working with and strength and conditioning coaches that I’m going to be working with. I think my next fight should be 170 (pounds).”

Gastelum has had trouble making the welterweight limit in the past, missing the mark on three separate occasions during his time with the promotion.

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