Shavkat Rakhmonov unsympathetic to Kelvin Gastelum’s heartfelt apology, points to a deeper conspiracy behind injury pullout

Earlier today, it was announced that Shavkat Rakhmonov’s welterweight bout with Kelvin Gastelum on the UFC’s Mexican Independence Day event on September 16 has been cancelled.

The bout would’ve seen Gastelum moving back to 170lbs for the first time since July 2016, and would’ve marked a major test for the No.6 ranked Rakhmonov. ‘The Nomad’ was last seen choking out Geoff Neal in March.

The announcement of the bout’s cancellation was made by Gastelum on his Twitter. The TUF 17 winner shared a brief clip of a sparring session before explaining that an errant elbow had caused an open fracture to his nose.

It didn’t take long for Shavkat Rakhmonov to attempt to re-arrange the fight booking. ‘The Nomad’ took to Twitter today to label Gastelum a “pinata,” and challenged him to fight at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi instead.

That event is set to go down on October 21, giving Gastelum an extra five weeks to recover from his injury.

However, in another Tweet aimed at his prospective opponent, Shavkat Rakhmonov also poked fun at Gastelum’s previous issues with making the welterweight division’s 170lbs cut-off limit.

While there has been no suggestion of Gastelum struggling with his diet for this bout, the TUF 17 winner does have a history of missing weight in the UFC.

Before he moved up to 185lbs in late 2016, he missed weight for two bouts in the octagon. Gastelum came into his fight with Nico Musoke in 2014 at 172.5lbs.

He then spectacularly missed weight for a 2015 clash with Tyron Woodley, only managing to get to 180lbs – nine pounds over the limit for a non-title bout.

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Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Kelvin Gastelum: Could the winner receive a UFC welterweight title shot?

It has been announced today that Shavkat Rakhmonov’s planned bout with Kelvin Gastelum on September 16 has been cancelled due to a nose injury that Gastelum suffered.

Rakhmonov is clearly hoping to have the fight re-booked as soon as possible, calling Gastelum out for a clash on October 21 in Abu Dhabi instead.

So could this bout produce the next top contender at welterweight? According to a recent interview with Gastelum, it might.

Most reports suggest that current champion Leon Edwards will defend his crown against Colby Covington at UFC 295 on November 11. However, this bout is not official as of the time of writing.

Judging by his interview with The Schmo, then, Gastelum is clearly of the belief that Covington can still be leapfrogged. He stated the following:

“I feel like I’m fighting the No.1 contender at welterweight. I feel like he is the No.1 contender. I don’t think there’s a clear contender other than Colby Covington. Colby’s coming off, a win or a loss? I don’t remember. I just don’t see any clear contenders other than Shavkat...I feel like this is the No.1 contender fight.”

Watch Gastelum discuss this below.

With the fight now postponed, of course, this is likely no longer the case.