Kelvin Gastelum reacts to his sentencing and suspension: “Suspension accepted, but I will NEVER fight in Brazil again!”

This past March, surging UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum scored an impressive first-round knockout victory over former UFC champion and mixed martial arts legend Vitor Belfort.

His victory over “The Phenom” served as Kelvin’s third win a row and second straight knockout victory since moving up to the promotions middleweight division.

Unfortunately for Gastelum and his fans, shortly following his fight with Belfort it was announced that Kelvin had tested positive for the banned substance carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol – more commonly known as THC, which is a key metabolite in marijuana.

With that news, Gastelum was pulled from his scheduled UFC 212 fight with former middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva which was slated to go down June 3 in Brazil.

Today Gastelum received his sentencing and the news was not good. Kelvin’s victory over Belfort was overturned to a no-contest and he was forced to return 20% of his fight purse to the sanctioning Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA). In addition to that, Gastelum was also handed a 90-day suspension, retroactive to the date of his failed test (March 11).

The surging middleweight contender took to Twitter where he shared his reaction to the sentencing with the following message.

“Suspension accepted, but I will NEVER fight in Brazil again. All they want is $$$$”

Despite the unfortunate news, Kelvin Gastelum is still hoping to fight this July and has his sights set on becoming a UFC champion.

“I plan on fighting in July so fingers crossed!! No matter what I will not be denied my opportunity to fight for the title eventually!”

What did you think of the punishment Kelvin Gastelum received from the Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA), and who would you like to see him fight next? Sound off PENN Nation!