{"id":216481,"date":"2017-01-08T06:48:11","date_gmt":"2017-01-08T14:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=216481"},"modified":"2017-01-08T09:31:11","modified_gmt":"2017-01-08T17:31:11","slug":"kelvin-gastelum-hopes-force-middleweight-welterweight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/kelvin-gastelum\/kelvin-gastelum-hopes-force-middleweight-welterweight\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelvin Gastelum hopes to be a force at middleweight and welterweight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kelvin Gastelum is one of the best welterweights on the planet, but there’s a definite asterisk attached to that statement. The young contender has missed the division’s 170-pound weight limit three times, most recently in November<\/a>, when he was so far over weight for a planned bout with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone that he didn’t even bother stepping onto the scale<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After this massive weigh in miss, Gastelum was sent packing to the middleweight division, where he recently scored a huge win over an elite foe in Tim Kennedy<\/a>. In the wake of this win, Gastelum has now been pencilled in for a bout with Vitor Belfort in Brazil. If he wins it, he’ll find himself firmly embedded in the UFC middleweight top-15 \u2013 but don’t expect that to keep him in the division.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with BloodyElbow.com<\/a>, the young talent explained his intention to take big fights at both middleweight and welterweight.<\/p>\n

His words:<\/p>\n

“I don’t see why I can’t be competing in both weight classes.\u00a0I felt great at 185. I feel I can excel at this weight, and I feel I beat the top guys at this weight. I remember a few years back, I wasn’t very confident in my abilities. But now, a few years have passed, and I’m pretty confident in my abilities, confident in my skills to know that I can compete with the best middleweights and also the best welterweights.”<\/em><\/p>\n

“They’ve granted me my wish and they got me a fight I’m interested in \u2014 a main event fight in Brazil against a legend like Vitor,” added the 25-year-old. “I can’t say no to that.”<\/em><\/p>\n

“I think it’ll open up my horizons even more. Whatever fight gets me to the title fight faster is the fight that I’ll take.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Do you think Kelvin Gastelum should stay at middleweight? Sound off, PENN Nation!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kelvin Gastelum is one of the best welterweights on the planet, but there’s a definite asterisk attached to that statement. The young contender has missed the division’s 170-pound weight limit three times, most recently in November, when he was so far over weight for a planned bout with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone that he didn’t even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10397],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nKelvin Gastelum hopes to be a force at middleweight and welterweight | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kelvin Gastelum is one of the best welterweights on the planet, but there's a definite asterisk attached to that statement.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/kelvin-gastelum\/kelvin-gastelum-hopes-force-middleweight-welterweight\/\" \/>\n<meta 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