After moving from the welterweight division to middleweight, Kelvin Gastelum was on the hunt for a title shot.
Gastelum had fallen short against ex-champ Chris Weidman, but a knockout win over ex-champ had revived his stock, and a matchup against ex-Strikeforce champ and perennial contender Ronaldo Souza was just the thing to get him closer to the belt.
In a hard-fought outing, Gastelum outworked Souza over three rounds to capture a split decision. The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner would go on to serve on The Ultimate Fighter 28 as a coach opposite champ Robert Whittaker, but his road to the title would take a swerve when Whittaker was ruled out at the last second.