SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Kelvin Gastleum may not be completely done at welterweight.
A UFC veteran and winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 17” thinks a return to 170 pounds could be in his future. Gastelum (17-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) is currently scheduled to compete at 185 pounds Jan. 14, as he takes on Nassourdine Imavov at a UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas.
Depending on how things go, the fight against Imavov could be his last at middleweight.
“It’s something that I’ve thought about,” Gastelum told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I want to take one more fight at 185 pounds, and then after that, we’ll see if we make those changes to come back to 170. It’s not outside the realm of possibilities.”
Gastelum most recently made the welterweight limit when he fought former UFC champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 200 in 2016. Prior, Gastelum spent almost his entire career at 170 pounds, with the exception of the “The Ultimate Fighter Finale 17” against Uriah Hall, which was contested at middleweight. Of the seven welterweight UFC fights for which he was booked, Gastelum missed weight for two.
The 31-year-old fighter thinks he would’ve benefited from an 175-pound weight class, which is light heavyweight in boxing, but unfortunately that’s not a division recognized by the UFC.
“Yeah, definitely, I would’ve benefited from an 175-pound category,” Gastelum said. “I would’ve liked that, but it was never made.”
