Rivalries: Kelvin Gastelum

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Another chapter in the up-and-down career of “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner Kelvin Gastelum will be written when he battles Ian Heinisch in a UFC 258 middleweight showcase this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Once floating near the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 185-pound weight class, Gastelum finds himself on a career-worst three-fight losing streak. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 172 on July 18, when he was victimized by a Jack Hermansson heel hook in just 78 seconds.

As Gastelum approaches his critical confrontation with Heinisch, a look at some of the rivalries that have brought him to this point:

Israel Adesanya

“The Last Stylebender” captured the interim middleweight championship with a unanimous decision over Gastelum in an electrifying UFC 236 co-main event on April 13, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Adesanya swept the scorecards with 48-46 marks from all three judges, as he emerged as the last man standing in what later became Sherdog’s runaway “Fight of the Year.” Their 25-minute engagement was marked by wild shifts in momentum. Gastelum drew first blood in the first round, where he had the City Kickboxing cornerstone reeling with a sneaky but powerful right hook. Adesanya answered in the second, first with a chopping right hand that resulted in a knockdown and later with a spinning back elbow that revved the crowd’s engines. As they headed to the championship rounds, it appeared to be anyone’s fight. Gastelum opened a cut under the New Zealand-based kickboxer’s right eye and staggered him badly with a head kick, driving forward with punches in a bid to finish late in Round 4. Still, Adesanya refused to wilt. He did his best work over the final five minutes, as he threatened Gastelum with a standing guillotine, transitioned to a triangle choke and scrambled to his feet. Adesanya knocked down the fading Kings MMA rep three times in the last half of the fifth round and was closing in on a stoppage when the horn sounded, an audible buzz sweeping across the crowd.

Ronaldo Souza

Gastelum upped his stock at 185 pounds in the UFC 224 co-headliner on May 12, 2018, when he eked out a split decision against former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo Souza at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Guilherme Bravo and Chris Lee for “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner, Sal D’Amato for Souza. It did not start well for Gastelum, who was forced to survive a harrowing ground exchange with the submission savant in the first round. Souza swept into top position under threat of a leg lock, advanced to full mount on two occasions, chipped away with ground-and-pound and pursued an armbar for the better part of a minute. However, all the work was a drag on his gas tank. Gastelum turned the tide in the middle stanza, where he sat down “Jacare” with a left cross, stayed out of clinch range and had the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt teetering on the end of his punches. The third round was too close to call, as the middleweight contenders fired away at one another. Gastelum flurried late on the exhausted Souza, perhaps tipping the scales in his favor.

Tyron Woodley

Woodley pocketed a split decision over the previously unbeaten Gastelum in the UFC 183 co-main event on Jan. 31, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Two judges—Adalaide Byrd and Tony Weeks—struck 29-28 and 30-27 scorecards in Woodley’s favor, while Chris Lee saw it 29-28 for Gastelum, who missed weight for the match by an almost inconceivable nine pounds. Neither man took the proverbial bull by the horns, as their confrontation was marked by extended periods of posturing and inactivity. Gastelum controlled the center of the cage and applied constant pressure, while Woodley leaned almost exclusively on his right hand. One of those rights penetrated Gastelum’s defenses in the second round and nearly sat down the Arizonan. “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner recovered quickly and resumed his forward march. Perhaps sensing the fight was slipping away, Gastelum stepped up his attacks in the third round and corralled Woodley along the fence. However, the finish he needed never materialized.

Uriah Hall

Relentless aggression, capable standup and multiple takedowns carried Gastelum to a split decision over the former Ring of Combat champion in the middleweight tournament final at “The Ultimate Fighter 17” Finale on April 13, 2013 inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. All three judges struck 29-28 scorecards: Sal D’Amato for Hall, Byrd and Junichiro Kamijo for Gastelum. Hall looked out of sorts at times, perhaps caught off-guard by his opponent’s willingness to exchange and wade through his punches and kicks. The Team Tiger Schulmann product did his best work in the second round, where he tagged Gastelum with jabs, delivered a takedown and scored with a beautiful belly-to-back suplex. Gastelum was not deterred. He secured a pair of takedowns in the third round and, despite being reversed twice, spent enough time in top position to earn the split verdict.