When 2019 started, Kelvin Gastelum was convinced he was about to become UFC middleweight champion. By the end of the year, he didn’t have a title around his waist and he was sitting with two losses in a row.
It all started this past February when Gastelum was scheduled to face Robert Whittaker for the undisputed middleweight title. Just hours before they were supposed to face off, Whittaker had to drop out of the fight due to a medical emergency and Gastelum had to endure a long flight home from Australia without the title.