{"id":279780,"date":"2018-07-02T07:32:26","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T14:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=279780"},"modified":"2018-07-02T07:32:26","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T14:32:26","slug":"kelvin-gastelum-feels-robert-whittaker-is-avoiding-a-fight-with-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/kelvin-gastelum\/kelvin-gastelum-feels-robert-whittaker-is-avoiding-a-fight-with-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelvin Gastelum feels Robert Whittaker is avoiding a fight with him"},"content":{"rendered":"

Riding high on impressive defeats of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Kelvin Gastelum feels he’s earned the next shot at reigning UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker. Unfortunately, he feels that Whittaker is attempting to steer clear of the matchup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that he\u2019s been offered the fight against me twice and he has not been wanting to fight me,\u201d Gastelum said on a recent episode of\u00a0The MMA Hour<\/a> (transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting<\/a>). \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s for good reason. I think I give him the most difficult time if we step in the cage and I think he knows that. In my opinion, I match up horribly for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gastelum, of course, is not the only man with claim to a UFC middleweight title shot. Chris Weidman, the last man he lost to, is also gunning for the opportunity.<\/p>\n

While Weidman makes some strong arguments for the next shot, Gastelum feels he should be given priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how he feels he deserves it,\u201d Gastelum said of Weidman. \u201cHe\u2019s been injured, he\u2019s been out, unfortunately. But that\u2019s just the way it goes. He says he\u2019s the most decorated fighter, but that\u2019s in the past, man. We\u2019re talking about now. Active fighters, fighters who are winning fights and fighting in the big fights, they should be rewarded. And that should be me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cChris Weidman thinks that he should get the shot over me?\u201d Gastelum added. \u201cI was ranked ninth when he fought me. He was coming off a three-fight skid. Since we fought, I\u2019ve fought two top-five guys, two former champions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Unfortunately for Kelvin Gastelum, Whittaker’s team seems to be leaning toward Weidman for his next fight<\/a> \u2014 perhaps in New York City this November.<\/p>\n

\u201cMadison Square Garden is a possibility,\u201d Whittaker’s manager Titus Day told\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/a>\u00a0of Whittaker\u2019s next fight, insisting Whittaker\u2019s broken hand should be healed by November.\u00a0\u201cRob\u2019s the middleweight champ and his last two fights have been wars. So if his hand heals up as quickly as we\u2019re hoping, we would definitely push for him to compete at the greatest fight arena in the world. And Chris Weidman, as the former champ, would be a perfect rival for that fight.<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 7\/2\/2018. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Riding high on impressive defeats of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Kelvin Gastelum feels he’s earned the next shot at reigning UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker. Unfortunately, he feels that Whittaker is attempting to steer clear of the matchup. \u201cI know that he\u2019s been offered the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":279324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10397],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nKelvin Gastelum feels Robert Whittaker is avoiding a fight with him | BJPenn.com<\/title>\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-feels-robert-whittaker-is-avoiding-a-fight-with-him\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kelvin Gastelum feels Robert Whittaker is avoiding a fight with him | BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Riding high on impressive defeats of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Kelvin Gastelum feels he’s earned the next shot at reigning UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker. 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