Kelvin Gastelum, with a title belt draped over his shoulder, called himself "the champ" when speaking with media at UFC 234 on Sunday in Melbourne, Australia.
Gastelum was set to face UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the card's main event Sunday (Australian time). Whittaker was forced to pull out of the bout Saturday due to emergency surgery on his abdomen.
"This is my belt. I earned this," Gastelum said. "I showed up, traveled thousands and thousands of miles from home, made the weight. In my world, the wrestling world, if the guy shows up and makes the weight, for some reason cancels the bout, the guy forfeits the match -- I win.