Kelvin Gastelum sees Shavkat Rakhmonov as his ticket to UFC title contention.
Gastelum (18-8 MMA, 12-8 UFC) meets Rakhmonov (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in the co-main event of a UFC Fight Night event taking place Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rakhmonov initially called out Gastelum when he heard that “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner was returning to 170 pounds. Gastelum, who took UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to the brink, is not one to back down from challenges.
“I’m on a mission for gold still, and that’s one of the reasons why I feel like this fight is important,” Gastelum said on his YouTube channel. “It puts me right there in those conversations to fight for the title, and that’s the main reason I chose to accept this fight is because I feel like I’m 10 years deep, and I feel like I’m still very young. But at the same time, I’m not.
“This sport has a very short timetable. I feel like there’s a window. One day that window will close. I want to make the most out of my career now and not have to wait 10 years down the line, 20 years in the future, and keep wondering, ‘What if.'”
Rakhmonov has been touted as a future champion by many and impressed in his octagon tenure so far. He most recently choked out Geoff Neal in a Fight of the Night effort at UFC 285 in March, and Gastelum sees him as the contender to beat in his pursuit of gold.
“We’re fighting, in my opinion, the No. 1 contender in the welterweight division,” Gastelum said. “He’s undefeated, all finishes, 17-0. But at the same time, I feel like all my stars are aligning.”
Gastelum last competed at welterweight in 2016 when he defeated former champion Johnny Hendricks by unanimous decision at UFC 200.
