Kelvin Gastelum is preparing to headline his second UFC event as he battles former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC Fight Night 106. Gastelum has had issues with weight cutting in the past, something that still haunts him.
“It does bother me (weight cutting issues),” Gastelum said to MMA Junkie. “But at the same time, I’ve brought it onto myself. I have to face the consequences on a media standpoint now. It does bother me. It bothers me a lot. But I have to take it. I’m not one of those guys who shies away from his problems. I like to handle it upfront and kind of grab the bull by the horns.”
Gastelum, who will be fighting Belfort as a middleweight, has missed weight three times under the UFC banner as a welterweight. The last of those missed weights canceled Gastelum's scheduled bout against Donald Cerrone at UFC 205.
Gastelum added that he wants to return to the welterweight division one day/
“I said at the post-fight press conference if I had a fight that would interest me in middleweight, I would stay here; (otherwise) I’d go back down to welterweight,” Gastelum said. “So I said if I get a fight like Vitor Belfort, who’s a big name, a legend in MMA, and he’s ranked above me. So they gave me the fight, the main event in Brazil. I’ve got a new contract, and things are looking good right now.”
UFC Fight Night 106 takes place on Saturday, March 11 from the Centro De Formacao Olimpica Do Nordeste in Forteleza, Brazil. The main card is airing on Fox Sports 1.
