Kelvin Gastelum will make his return to welterweight against a top-ranked contender.
Gastelum (18-8 MMA, 12-8 UFC) and Sean Brady (15-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) are expected to meet at UFC Fight Night on Dec. 2, which does not yet have an announced date or location.
A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Monday, but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Twitter user MagicM_MMABets was first to report the news. Brady also confirmed the matchup on social media.
Gastelum was expected to make his 170-pound debut against Shavkat Rakhmonov less than two weeks ago at Noche UFC, but was forced to withdraw after he suffered multiple fractures on his nose and face from an accident in training. In his most recent octagon appearance, the former interim title challenger snapped a two-fight skid when he defeated Chris Curtis in April.
Brady hasn’t competed since his first career loss to Belal Muhammad last October at UFC 280. Brady withdrew from two scheduled bookings against Michel Pereira and Jack Della Maddalena in 2023 due to injury.
With the addition, the current UFC Fight Night lineup for Dec. 2 includes:
- Jared Cannonier vs. Roman Dolidze
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Rob Font
- Julia Avila vs. Miesha Tate
- Azamat Murzakanov vs. Khalil Rountree
- Veronica Hardy vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
- Sean Brady vs. Kelvin Gastelum
- Clay Guida vs. Joaquim Silva
