Sean Brady doesn’t mind if Kelvin Gastelum misses weight – as long as the fight is still on.
Gastelum (18-8 MMA, 12-8 UFC) returns to welterweight to meet Brady (15-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on Dec. 2 at UFC Fight Night, which does not yet have an announced date or location. Brady is happy to draw an established name in Gastelum, who’s fought a slew of big names, including Israel Adesanya for the interim middleweight title in a classic battle at UFC 236.
“I was very surprised by the name just because I knew he was coming back to 170,” Brady said on Sirius XM’s Fight Nation. “I was really thinking it was Vicente (Luque). They hit me up and told me that’s who it was going to be and then they came at me with Kelvin because Vicente is fighting Ian Garry now. It’s a huge fight and like you were even saying to me, he has a huge name, he’s been around forever. He’s fought some of the best guys. He’s beat some of the best guys, lost to some of the best guys.
“Now he’s coming back down to 170, which he’s definitely a 170 pounder. He took Izzy to a split decision. He lost a split decision to one of the best 185’ers on the planet. If that’s not going to get you to train hard, I don’t think anything is. I’m super excited just to test myself. That’s what I’m here to do. I’m here to fight the best, and Kelvin is one of the best. Hopefully there’s no trouble for him making 170 and Dec. 2 we’ll get to get after it.”
Gastelum’s last appearance at welterweight was in January 2015, when he missed weight by a whopping nine pounds in a split decision loss to Tyron Woodley. Gastelum vowed not to miss weight, and Brady doesn’t think he will.
However, if Gastelum does end up coming in heavy, Brady won’t mind the extra paycheck.
“He’s not that big, so if he just f*cking eats right for the next two months, he’ll be all right,” Brady said. “I cut a lot of weight. I cut from almost 200 pounds, and I never have a problem getting to 170. So, it’s just about being dialed in. He’s a professional, so hopefully he does what he’s supposed to do.
“And listen, if he misses by a couple, I know Kelvin is probably getting some big paychecks, so I’ll take that 30 percent. But if he misses by 10 pounds like he did against Woodley, I don’t even think they would let the fight happen. I’m sure he wants to fight, and I’m sure him and his team won’t let that happen.”
