In April, Kelvin Gastelum narrowly failed to capture the UFC’s interim middleweight title, losing a tight judges’ decision to Israel Adesanya inside the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s been eager to rebound from this heartbreaking defeat since the moment he walked out of the cage that night.
Unfortunately, by the time Gastelum was healthy enough to do so, all of his top-ranked middleweight rivals had found dance partners. The new interim champion Adesanya had been matched up with the undisputed champ Robert Whittaker. Yoel Romero was scheduled to meet Paulo Costa. Jack Hermansson would soon take on Jared Cannonier.