Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He currently competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). Gastelum has competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

since he won ''

The Ultimate Fighter 17 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter 17'') is the seventeenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The series ...

''. As of December 13, 2022, he is #13 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Early life

Gastelum is of Mexican descent. His family is from Obregon,

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, where he lived temporarily during his childhood.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Gastelum won a 5A Division II

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

state wrestling title out of Cibola High School and continued to wrestle at

North Idaho College North Idaho College (NIC) is a public community college in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It has an enrollment exceeding 6,000 and is situated at the north end of Lake Coeur d'Alene near downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Tubbs Hill, Coeur d'Alene, Idah ...

, where he was ranked as high as fifth in the country (

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

) as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

before deciding to compete in

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

professionally. He worked as a

bail bondsman Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

prior to training MMA full-time. After turning professional, Gastelum amassed an undefeated record of five wins (all finishes) and no losses before competing in

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

''The Ultimate Fighter''

In January 2013, it was announced that Gastelum was selected for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen. To get into the TUF house, Gastelum defeated Kito Andrews by decision. During the choosing of teams, he was picked last by coach

Chael Sonnen Chael Patrick Sonnen (; born April 3, 1977) is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Champion ...

for Team Sonnen. Gastelum's next fight in the house was against

Bubba McDaniel Robert "Bubba" McDaniel (born May 3, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly fought as a Middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he went (1–2). He was a member of FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team ...

. He won in the second round via rear naked choke submission. In the quarterfinals, Gastelum would take on Collin Hart. He won the fight by TKO in the first round. In the semifinals, Gastelum fought

Josh Samman Joshua Kaleb Samman (March 14, 1988 – October 5, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist who, at the time of his death, competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and also competed for Be ...

. He won via first round rear naked choke, and advanced to the tournament finals.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Gastelum faced teammate Uriah Hall in the finals at the Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. Gastelum won the fight via split decision to win the Ultimate Fighter 17, becoming the youngest winner in the show's history at 21 years old and earned a UFC contract. After the victory, Gastelum announced he would be moving down a weight class to compete in the UFC 's

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division. Gastelum was expected to face

Paulo Thiago Paulo Thiago Alencar Antunes (; born January 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he ha ...

on August 28, 2013, at

UFC Fight Night 27 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 27'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 28, 2013, at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Backg ...

. However, Thiago pulled out of the bout citing a knee injury and was replaced by

Brian Melancon Brian Melancon (born May 28, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC's Welterweight division. A professional competitor from 2009-2013, Melancon also formerly competed for Strikeforce, Bellator, and ...

. Gastelum finished Melancon via rear naked choke in the first round. Gastelum was expected to face

Court McGee Courtney Scott "Court" McGee (born December 12, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local prom ...

on December 14, 2013, at

UFC on Fox 9 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, but was forced to withdraw due to a torn PCL. Gastelum faced

Rick Story Rick Thomas Story (born August 28, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2007-2018, he last competed for the Professional Fighters League, but is better known for his 19-fight tenure with the UFC. Background Stor ...

on March 15, 2014, at

UFC 171 ''UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler'' was a mixed martial arts event that was held on March 15, 2014, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The event was released on DVD on June 17, 2014. The DVD was distributed by '' Anchor Bay Entertai ...

, a fight that he had specifically asked for. He won the back-and-forth fight via split decision (28–29, 29–28, and 30–27). Gastelum faced

Nico Musoke Nicholas "Nico" Musoke (born April 5, 1986) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division of Swedish promotion Superior Challenge. A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, Musoke has also competed in the Ultim ...

on June 28, 2014, at

UFC Fight Night 44 ''UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 44'') was a mixed martial arts event held at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event was the first that the organization has hosted in San Antonio. Zu ...

. Gastelum missed weight by one and three-quarter pounds and forfeited 20% of his fight purse to Musoke. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Gastelum next fought

Jake Ellenberger Jacob Steven "Jake" Ellenberger (born March 28, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former United States Marine who was known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor from 2005–2018, ...

on November 15, 2014, at

UFC 180 ''UFC 180: Werdum vs. Hunt'' was a mixed martial arts event held on November 15, 2014, at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico. Background The event was the first the organization hosted in Mexico and was so popular that all 21,000 tic ...

as the co-main event. He won the fight in the first round via rear-naked choke. The win also earned Gastelum his first ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Gastelum next faced

Tyron Woodley Tyron Woodley (born April 17, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion who defended his title four times. A professional since 2009, Woodley also competed at Strikeforce and was an NCAA Di ...

on January 31, 2015, at

UFC 183 ''UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 31, 2015, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silv ...

. He missed weight by 10 lbs and was fined 30% of his fight purse which would be given to Woodley. He lost the fight via split decision. In the post-fight interview with

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly ...

, Woodley said that he would not accept 30% of Gastelum's purse, as him missing weight and losing was enough punishment. Due to Gastelum not being able to make weight on two occasions while fighting in the welterweight division in the UFC, UFC president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

ordered Gastelum to move up to middleweight. In his return to middleweight, Gastelum faced

Nate Marquardt Nathan Joel Marquardt (born April 20, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the middleweight and welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 1999, he is a former Strikeforce W ...

UFC 188 ''UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum'' was a mixed martial arts event held on June 13, 2015, at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship unification bout between then champion ...

on June 13, 2015. He won the fight via TKO after Marquardt's corner stopped the fight between the second and third round. Gastelum was expected to face Matt Brown in a welterweight bout on November 21, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. However, Brown withdrew from the fight due to an ankle injury suffered in training. He was replaced by

Neil Magny Aoutneil "Neil" Jacques Magny (born August 3, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Magny ...

. Gastelum lost the fight by split decision. Both participants earned ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Gastelum was scheduled to face

Kyle Noke Kyle Noke (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who competed as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for EliteXC. Background Noke, origina ...

on January 2, 2016 at

UFC 195 ''UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 2, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to feature a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between then-unde ...

, however, Gastelum pulled out due to a wrist injury and was replaced by

Alex Morono Alexander Quincy Morono (born August 16, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, Morono has also fought for Legacy ...

. Gastelum next faced

Johny Hendricks Johny Harvey Hendricks (born September 12, 1983) is an American former mixed martial artist and collegiate wrestler. He competed in the welterweight and middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former UFC Welterwei ...

on July 9, 2016 at

UFC 200 ''UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 9, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It was the final UFC event under the ownership of ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, and 30–27). Gastelum was expected to face

Donald Cerrone Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ultimat ...

UFC 205 ''UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor'' was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In what was described by UFC president Dana White as ...

but, on the day of the weigh-ins, Gastelum did not make an attempt to formally make the 171 lbs limit and the bout was scrapped. This made it the third time Gastelum failed to make the 170 lb weight limit, prompting

to say that he will "never let him fight at 170 again". Gastelum returned to middleweight and faced Tim Kennedy on December 10, 2016 at

UFC 206 ''UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held on December 10, 2016, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championshi ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. Gastelum next fought

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions. Belfort previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavywe ...

on March 11, 2017, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 106. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. The win also earned Gastelum a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Gastelum was expected to face

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 and ...

UFC 212 ''UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on June 3, 2017, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout betwe ...

. However, he was pulled from the event after

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent d ...

learned he tested positive for high levels of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

metabolite Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Carboxy-THC) above the 180 ng/mL allowance by the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

(WADA) from his previous drug test for his bout against Belfort. On May 7, Gastelum's win over Belfort was officially overturned to a "No Contest" and he was suspended 90 days (retroactive to the March 11 test date). The ''Performance of the Night'' which Gastelum had been awarded against

was also rescinded. Gastelum faced

Chris Weidman Christopher James WeidmanMIXED MARTIAL ARTS S ...

on July 22, 2017, in the main event at

UFC on Fox 25 ''UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 25'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2017 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Background ...

. Gastelum lost the fight via submission in the third round. The bout with

was rescheduled and was expected to take place at a UFC Fight Night on November 25, 2017. However, Silva was pulled from the bout due to failing a USADA drug test and was replaced by

Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...

. Gastelum defeated Bisping by knockout in the first round. He also earned his second ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Gastelum faced

Ronaldo Souza Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born December 7, 1979), nicknamed " Jacare" (), is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist and submission grappler who competed for UFC from 2013 to 2021. A highly regarded grappler on the world s ...

on May 12, 2018, at

UFC 224 ''UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 12, 2018, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The UFC was initially targeting a UFC Wom ...

. He won the back and forth fight via split decision. Both combatants received the ''Fight of the Night'' bonus. In July 2018, the UFC announced that Gastelum and Robert Whittaker were selected as coaches for Ultimate Fighter 28 On November 2, 2018, it was announced that Gastelum was scheduled to face Whittaker for the middleweight title on February 9, 2019, at

UFC 234 ''UFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 10, 2019 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship b ...

. However, Whittaker pulled out of the event a few hours prior and forced to undergo emergency dual surgery later in the day due to an

abdominal hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin herni ...

of the intestine and a twisted and collapsed bowel.

Interim UFC Middleweight championship

Gastelum faced

Israel Adesanya Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya (born 22 July 1989) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines. As a mixed martial artist, h ...

on April 13, 2019 at

UFC 236 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor (company), End ...

for the interim UFC Middleweight championship. He lost the fight via unanimous decision in a back and forth fight. This fight earned him the ''Fight of the Night'' award, and was later voted the 2019 ''Fight of the Year'' by multiple MMA media outlets.

After Interim UFC Middleweight championship

Gastelum faced

Darren Till Darren Till (born 24 December 1992) is an English professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 13, 2022, he is #15 ...

UFC 244 ''UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 2, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. It was the UFC's ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on November 2, 2019. Subsequent to the event's weigh-ins, the

NYSAC The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

issued a rare statement that they would be pursuing disciplinary action against Gastelum. Per the statement, the Athletic Commission stated upon review of Gastelum's weigh-in video that they "determined that Mr. Gastelum made contact with another person while on the scale, a violation of the weigh in policy. As the result, Gastelum and his coach,

Rafael Cordeiro Rafael Cordeiro (born June 1, 1973) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) coach and founder of MMA Gym, Kings MMA. He is best known for training multiple MMA world champions. History Cordeiro was a fighter affiliated with the Chute Boxe Acad ...

, were fined $1,000 and $200 respectively by

New York State Athletic Commission The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

. The official weight determination would not be disturbed, and Mr. Gastelum would not be disqualified from competing in UFC 244." He lost the fight via split decision. Gastelum was suspended by

for 9 months for testing positive for

in relation to his bout with

in November 2019 but the suspension was reduced to five months after Gastelum's successful completion of a drug treatment program. Gastelum faced

Jack Hermansson Jack Berndhard Hermansson (born 10 June 1988) is a Swedish and Norwegian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former middleweight champion i ...

on July 19, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 172 ''UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 172'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 30'' and ''UFC Fight Island 2'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 19, 2020 ...

. He lost the fight via heel hook in round one. Gastelum was scheduled to face

Ian Heinisch Ian Edward Heinisch (born August 5, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2015, he has also competed for the World Series of Fightin ...

on January 30, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 186 ''UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 186'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 44'' and ''UFC Vegas 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 27, 2021, at the ...

. On December 26, 2020, it was announced that the bout has moved to

UFC 258 ''UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 13, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

on February 13, 2021. Gastelum won the fight via unanimous decision. Gastelum faced Robert Whittaker, replacing

Paulo Costa Paulo Henrique Costa (born 21 April 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 1, 2022, he is #6 in the UFC middleweight ...

, on April 17, 2021, at

UFC on ESPN 22 ''UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 22'' and ''UFC Vegas 24'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 17, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterpr ...

. Gastelum lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. Gastelum faced

Jared Cannonier Jared Cannonier (born March 16, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently fights in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 15, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC middleweight ran ...

on August 21, 2021, at

UFC on ESPN 29 ''UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 29'' and ''UFC Vegas 34'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 21, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterp ...

. Gastelum lost the fight via unanimous decision. Gastelum was scheduled to face

Nassourdine Imavov Nasourdin Abdoulazimovitch Imavov (born March 1, 1995) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of April 11, 2023, he is #12 in the UFC middleweight rankings. Backgro ...

on April 9, 2022, at

UFC 273 ''UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 9, 2022, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Backgroun ...

. However, Imavov was forced to withdraw due to visa issues and he was replaced by

Dricus du Plessis Dricus du Plessis (born 14 January 1994) is a South African professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously competed in the Middleweight division of ...

. However, Gastelum withdrew a week before the event due to an undisclosed injury and his bout with du Plessis was cancelled. The pair was yet again rescheduled at

UFC Fight Night 217 ''UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 217'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 75'' and ''UFC Vegas 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 14, 2023, at the ...

on January 14, 2023.

Championships and accomplishments

** The Ultimate Fighter 17 Winner ** Fight of the Night (Four times) **

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(Three times) vs.

and

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

**2014 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

**2019 MMA Match of the Year vs.

(

, April 13) *

MMAJunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2019 April Fight of the Month vs.

**2019 Fight of the Year vs.

MMA Fighting ''MMA Fighting'' is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Founded in 2001, the site is notable for its breaking news coverage, podcast series, and ''The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani''. Overview ''MMAFighting.com'' w ...

**2019 Fight of the Year vs.

*Cageside Press **2019 Fight of the Year vs.

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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, China , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 (1) ,

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Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 ...

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Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

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Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

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Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

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Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

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, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann II , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

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Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

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Parker, Arizona Parker ( Mojave 'Amat Kuhwely, formerly 'Ahwe Nyava) is the county seat of La Paz County, Arizona, United States, on the Colorado River in Parker Valley. The population was 3,083 at the 2010 census. History Founded in 1908, the town was named a ...

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Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

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Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000, ...

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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, Submission (rear-naked choke) , (air date) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:39 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Kito Andrews , Decision (unanimous) , (air date) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gastelum, Kelvin 1991 births Living people Doping cases in mixed martial arts American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent Mixed martial artists from California Mixed martial artists from Arizona American sportspeople in doping cases The Ultimate Fighter winners People from Yuma, Arizona Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male sport wrestlers North Idaho Cardinals wrestlers

Early life

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Interim UFC Middleweight championship

After Interim UFC Middleweight championship

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

See also

References

External links