A key welterweight bout between former champ Johny Hendricks (17-5 MMA) and Kelvin Gastelum (12-2 MMA) took place during tonight’s UFC 200 preliminary card in Las Vegas.
Round one begins and Gastelum opens things up with a high kick that misses. He quickly takes the center of the octagon. Johny comes in with a combination. Kelvin lands a nice left hand over the top. He presses forward and lands a leg kick. Hendricks comes back with a leg kick of his own. Kelvin responds with two leg kicks and then a left hand. A nice right jab scores for Gastelum. Johny with a nice body kick inside. Gastelum with a nice combination. Johny is pressing forward now. Kelvin lands a counter left. Hendricks with an uppercut. Both men miss with jabs. A nice punch kick combo lands for Kelvin. He lands another combination and another. He is lighting Johny up now. Hendricks ducks under a punch and press Kelvin against the cage. Johny with some knees inside before Kelvin breaks free and lands a leg kick. Hendricks lands a nice left hand. Kelvin continues to push the pace. Gastelum with a nice straight left hand. Hendricks is trying to utilize head movement but it is not working. Good shots from both fighters. Johny with a kick to the body. Round one comes to an end.
Round two begins and Gastelum starts things off with a leg kick. Johny presses forward with punches. He misses wildly with a left hand. Kelvin with a combination. Johny returns fire and lands a nice left hand. Kelvin now presses forward but misses with his punches. Johny with another left. Gastelum with a solid leg kick. Johny presses him against the fence and searches for a takedown. They break. Johny lands a nice leaping left hand. Gastelum with a double jab and then a left hand. Nice spinning back kick from Kelvin. Hendricks presses forward and lands a combo. He attempts a takedown but Kelvin stuffs it. Kelvin with a nice knee. He fires off a combination. Johny comes back with a left hand. Both men land good shots inside. This is turning in to a war. Round two comes to an end.
Round three begins and both men are happy to stand and trade. Gastelum is putting a lot of pressure on Johny. Hendricks misses with a big uppercut. Kelvin lands a solid inside leg kick. He lands a follow up kick to the body of Johny who is forced to take a deep breath. Nice punch from Johny but Kelvin returns fire with a big left. Hendricks with a left hand. Gastelum presses forward and lands a punch and then a kick. Another big shot scores for Gastelum. Johny fires back with a combination. Kelvin circles and lands a big leg kick inside. A left hand lands for Kelvin and Johny replies with a kick to the body. Nice left hands from Hendricks who shoots in and attempts a takedown. He gets it. Kelvin pops right back up and lands some elbows. They break and Johny lands a left hand. He presses forward and attempts another takedown. Gastelum is able to switch the position. Johny with a left. Noth men are landing huge shots as the horn sounds to end the fight.
Gastelum defeats Hendricks via decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)