After a disappointing first-round loss to the heel hook at the hands of Jack Hermansson (watch it here), Kelvin Gastelum finds himself skidding three lost fights.
Sure, the first of those losses went to Israel Adesanya in the toughest fight of the ascending champion’s career. But his flat and tentative loss to Darren Till made people wonder if he had lost some of his drive to compete, and this latest defeat for Hermansson came after Kelvin allowed himself to sit in a dangerous position on the ground for too long. , similar to his loss to Chris Weidman in 2017.
For a man who was ready to cement a place at the top of the middleweight division, several sobering months have passed. And apparently no one knows that more than Gastelum himself, who issued a statement after his last L on Fight Island.
“Really ashamed men,” wrote Gastelum. “Sorry. My team, my family @UFC @danawhite @ Mickmaynard2. I am much better than what was shown tonight. Thank you to all my family, my team and my friends for the continued support. I love you all.”
“You can find many defeats, but you should not be defeated,” he finished. “In fact, it may be necessary to face defeat, so that you can know who you are, what you can get up from, how you can get out of it.”
This latest loss reduces Gastelum to 15-6-1 and may cause him to drop to # 7 on the UFC middleweight ranking in the top ten.
While UFC President Dana White had no comment on Gastelum’s swift defeat on Fight Island 2, he made it clear at the start of the weekend that the exciting fighter was not in a hurry with the promotion.
“He’s always in it,” said White. “He is always there. We’ll find out though. I don’t think it’s a crossroads fight. This is a boy who wins, loses or ties, he will still be in the top 10, he will still be exciting and he can achieve a victory with a single blow. “
What do you think, maniacs? Can Kelvin turn things around and get back into the top five, or things not looking good for the 28-year-old Ultimate Fighter winner?
