Kelvin Gastelum is back on the UFC’s schedule, giving Chris Curtis a chance to pick up the highest profile win of his career.
Gastelum (16-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) and Curtis (30-9 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will meet in a middleweight bout April 8 at UFC 287. Gastelum posted about the matchup on social media, as did Curtis’ Xtreme Couture coach, Eric Nicksick, following an initial report by MMA Mania.
Gastelum, 31, had been set to kick off 2023 headlining the first event of the year, but he withdrew from his UFC Fight Night 217 bout vs. Nassourdine Imavov after his tooth was knocked out in training. Gastelum has been on a downswing in his career even since losing the Fight of the Year to Israel Adesanya for the interim middleweight title in April 2019. He’s lost five of his past six bouts in that time.
Curtis, 35, is looking to remain on a roll, having won nine of his past 10 bouts overall. He most recently knocked out Joaquin Buckley with punches in the second round of their fight this past December at UFC 282.
Below is the updated UFC 287 lineup:
- Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Loopy Godinez
- Luana Pinheiro vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
- Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Nikolas Motta
- Christian Rodriguez vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
- Steve Garcia vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Chris Curtis
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
