A middleweight modern classic will claim its spot in the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.
During Saturday’s UFC 312 broadcast, the promotion announced that the 2019 interim title fight between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame Fight Wing as part of the Class of 2025.
The fight was the co-main event of UFC 236, which took place April 13, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. On that night, Adesanya and Gastelum battled in a thriller that went back and forth for five rounds, with Adesanya winning by close unanimous decision to grab his first piece of the UFC 185-pound title.
“The fight between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 was one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen in my life,” said UFC CEO Dana White. “This was an absolute war with the interim title on the line. Congrats to Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum on a fight that will always be remembered!”
UFC 236 was a fork-in-the-road moment in the careers of Adesanya and Gastelum. Adesanya, 35, went on to finish then-middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in a title unifier and proceeded to successfully defend his belt five times before losing it to Alex Pereira by knockout. Adesanya reclaimed the belt by knocking out Pereira in a rematch before going on his current three-fight losing skid.
Gastelum, on the other hand, has gone 3-5 since losing to Adesanya. The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner has dealt with injuries while competing at both middleweight and welterweight.
“One of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen in my life.” -Dana White@KelvinGastelum vs @Stylebender is the newest inductee to the #UFCHOF Fight Wing 👏 pic.twitter.com/YQIbgwNiNC
— UFC (@ufc) February 9, 2025
Adesanya vs. Gastelum, which was named MMA Junkie’s 2019 Fight of the Year, will become the most recent bout added to the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing. Cub Swanson vs. Doo Hoo Choi, from UFC 206 in December 2016, had been the most recent following its 2022 induction.
Last month, former “TUF” producer Craig Piligian was named the first member of the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2025 as part of the Contributor Wing.
