Should Kelvin Gastelum be cut after UFC Saudi Arabia? A look into the veteran's history of unreliability [Opinion]
Kelvin Gastelum left the octagon at UFC Saudi Arabia with a hard-fought win over Daniel Rodriguez. Unfortunately, his performance has come under scrutiny due to his inability to make weight. The pair were originally scheduled for a welterweight meeting, which isn't new to Gastelum.
Gastelum is a veteran of the sport, having fought in the UFC since 2013, a little over a decade ago. Despite often claiming that he is on a mission for championship gold, his career has not been defined by title-winning potential. Instead, what Gastelum is most well-known for are his struggles making weight.
UFC Saudi Arabia was one of several instances where he failed on the scale, despite past promises to rectify the issue. At this point, 23 fights into the UFC, the promotion should consider releasing him, as he will never change his ways.
Every instance of Kelvin Gastelum failing the UFC
In the beginning, Kelvin Gastelum seemed like a promising talent. He was undefeated, first drawing attention by beating 'The Ultimate Fighter 17' favorite Uriah Hall in the finale. Three fights later, he was still unbeaten, having scored a unanimous decision win over Nico Musoke.
That bout, though, was originally a welterweight clash, and an unfortunate sign of things to come. Gastelum failed his 170-pound cut, coming in at 172.75 pounds, turning the matchup into a catchweight. His subsequent fight was a return to form, with him making weight and submitting Jake Ellenberger in round one.
To Gastelum's misfortune, it didn't last. He took on future UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, but had another weigh-in failure ahead of the fight, stepping on the scale at 180 pounds. He ultimately lost via split decision, marking his first-ever loss. In the span of seven months, he had failed to make weight twice.
This infuriated UFC CEO Dana White, who ordered him to compete at middleweight, which he did, TKO'ing Nate Marquardt. Thereafter, he flip-flopped between welterweight and middleweight but didn't miss weight. After a UFC 200 win over ex-welterweight champion Johny Hendricks, he again failed the UFC.
Gastelum was scheduled to appear at UFC 205, one of the all-time great pay-per-views in the promotion. He was to fight the legendary Donald Cerrone at welterweight, but could not meet the 171-pound non-championship limit, marking his third weight-related failure, with White promising to ban him from the division.
Gastelum was given a matchup against another legend in Vitor Belfort, who he TKO'd. The result, though, was overturned, declared a no-contest after he tested positive for a marijuana metabolite. By then, his reputation as a talented, but undisciplined fighter was solidified.
Forced to commit to middleweight, Gastelum did not experience any failures on the scale and even faced Israel Adesanya for the interim 185-pound title in a barnburner. He went on to clash with renowned fighters like another former champion Robert Whittaker, and the then-popular Darren Till.
However, years later, after seemingly paying his dues, Gastelum returned to welterweight, losing to Sean Brady, then losing to the scale again, by failing to make weight against Daniel Rodriguez. This time, though, it was especially egregious.
Examining Kelvin Gastelum's issues making weight against Daniel Rodriguez
There's an extra dimension to Kelvin Gastelum's failure to make weight against Daniel Rodriguez. The former interim welterweight title challenger looked, by far, the stronger, faster, and fresher fighter at UFC Saudi Arabia, securing takedowns and landing hard shots across all three rounds, with his pace never dropping.
The short answer is that Gastelum didn't exert any true effort to make weight, as he stepped on the scale at 185 pounds, which is 15 pounds over the welterweight limit. To make matters worse, he only notified Rodriguez of his weight struggles right before the actual fight.
This is troublesome, as it indicates that Gastelum waited until Rodriguez had depleted himself in his weight cut to 170 pounds, before revealing that he couldn't make the agreed-upon weight, which he almost certainly knew well ahead of time given that he stepped on the scale 15 pounds over the limit.
Gastelum didn't try to make weight and gamed the rules in such a manner to leave Rodriguez in the worst possible position. It's an unethical move, which was punctuated by his fourth weight-related failure in the UFC. After the bout, which he won, he promised that it would never happen again.
However, how many chances does he need? Gastelum is not a prospect or newcomer in the sport. He is a 29-fight veteran, 23 of which are UFC bouts. He's not large for welterweight either, standing at just 5 feet 9 inches tall. These are physical dimensions that are dwarfed by many lightweights.
Dana White was decidedly upset over the weight issues at the UFC Saudi Arabia post-fight press conference, addressing a media member's question regarding which division Gastelum should fight at. White said:
"I don't know, you know? I'm not thrilled with Kelvin Gastelum right now. You know, this guy's missed weight like three times in his career."
Check out Dana White on Kelvin Gastelum's latest weight-related failure (0:06):
Gastelum is simply undisciplined, and as a soon-to-be 33-year-old, he does not need to still be trying to steel himself for weight cuts. Fighters have been cut for much less, and Gastelum, besides his issues on the scale, is unranked and 3-6 in his last nine bouts. He'll never change, and after this latest stunt, it might be time to let him go.