Kelvin Gastelum apologized after the fastest loss of his career.
The middleweight contender saw his co-lead bout on UFC Fight Island 2 versus Jack Hermansson end in just 78 seconds when Hermansson caught him with a heel hook submission. It was only the second time in Gastelum’s 22-fight run that he had finished.
Soon after, Gastelum, 28, posted a statement on social media saying he was “ashamed”, but encouraged others not to be discouraged by the defeats.
Truly embarrassed guys. Sorry. My team, my family @UFC @danawhite @ Mickmaynard2. I am much better than what was shown tonight. Thanks 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. In fact, defeats may need to be faced, so you can know who you are, what you can come from, how you can still get out of it.
With the loss to Hermansson, Gastelum has now lost three straight bouts.
Before being terminated by Hermansson, the only other time Gastelum failed to reach the final bell in defeat was against Chris Weidman in July 2017. Weidman defeated Gastelum by submission in the third round.
A former welterweight contender, Gastelum established himself as a top 10 middleweight after making a permanent move to the division in December 2016. The Ultimate Fighter 17 The champion has victories over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Michael Bisping and Tim Kennedy (a first-round technical knockout of Vitor Belfort was canceled in a contest to no avail when Gastelum tested positive for a marijuana metabolite).
At UFC 236 in April last year, Gastelum battled Israel Adesanya for a middleweight middleweight title, losing by unanimous decision in what was hailed as one of the best championship fights in UFC history.
