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On April 14, 2019, Kelvin Gastelum lost to Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at UFC 236. The loss deprived Gastelum of the interim middleweight championship but the fight was hailed as one of the greatest title fights in UFC history. Though he lost via unanimous decision, he came very close to get the win against Adesanya who only clinched it at the very last round of the title fight.
Where it went wrong for Gastelum
The heart and desire shown by Gastelum that night made MMA fans believe that he would soon take the thrown at middleweight. But after more than a year, the current scenario is far from it. And his 1st round submission loss to Jack Hermansson on July 19,2020 in UFC fight island sees him slipping away from the top of the middleweight ranking.
After taking a small break to recover from UFC 236, Gastelum returned to the octagon on November 3, 2019 to face British star Darren Till in co-main event of UFC 244. Till was coming off a loss from Jorge Masvidal and making his debut in middleweight division. Till took a split decision win that day against Gastelum, who seemed to be lacking the intensity that he showed against Adesanya.
Gastelum next entered the octagon against Hermansson after back to back loses. So when Hermansson submitted him via a heel hook in the 1st round, it all came crashing down for Gastelum. He posted a statement shorty after his loss to Hermansson saying he was “truly embarrassed” and that he is “much better than what was shown tonight.” He also stated that it may be necessary to taste defeats sometimes to know what you can rise from.
What's next for Gastelum
Kelvin Gastelum now needs a quick turnaround to get back at top of the middleweight division. A win against veteran Yoel Romero could land him a fight against Robert Whittaker who just won against Darren Till. Remember that The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner was supposed to face Whittaker at UFC 234 in Australia for the title, before Whittaker pulled out due to a hernia and a twisted and collapsed bowel that forced him to undergo an emergency surgery.
Before Adesanya burst into the scene, the MMA world wanted to see how Gastelum would fare against the then champion Whittaker. So maybe a win against Yoel Romero or the dark horse of the division Jared Cannonier would get him back on track. And in the MMA world one or two quick knockouts could make Gastelum a contender for the title again. But Gastelum can't afford to make any mistakes going forward. Anothe loss will see him go outside the top ten ranking and to come back from back will be a huge challenge even for Gastelum.
So after three consecutive loses in a division that has top contenders like Robert Whittaker, Paula Costa and Yoel Romero and which now sees the surging run up the rankings for the likes of Hermansson, Jared Cannonier, it’s not easy being Kelvin Gastelum right now. But then again, let’s not forget it was Gastelum who gave the current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya a run for his money at UFC 236. When Gastelum is in the mood he can take on anyone in the world and MMA fans are hoping to see that old Gastelum full of determination and hunger once again. And who knows, may be next year this time we will be seeing Gastelum vs Adesanya 2.
