Look at this, kids: one day your dreams may come true. You can go from sitting in an office, to the TUF 17 tryouts, to being picked last on the show, to derailing the biggest hype train since… Ever. Props to Kelvin Gastelum for overcoming diversity around every corner to realize his dream. Now, he heads home a TUF winner, regardless of some talent in the past, that’s a big accomplishment, and anyone saying otherwise can win four fights in the span of three months then talk to me.
Kelvin hopped on the MMA Hour to discuss his rise to the UFC, and his plans to drop down to welterweight.
“I was sitting in my office one day,” “And then I saw the (TUF 17 tryouts) ad and I was like, ‘Hey, I guess I’m going to go and tryout, see what happens.’ Because before that I was struggling. I was about ready to quit MMA for a while, and just get another job because obviously I wasn’t doing well financially.
“I was like, man, if I don’t make it, it’s going to be a while until I’m back in a cage somewhere. Luckily it worked out all in my favor.”
“People are saying he didn’t perform, and I guess I would have to agree,” explained Gastelum. “Mostly because I was putting the pressure on him and actually bringing the fight, which it what a lot of the guys didn’t do. Adam Cella was the guy that brought the fight (on TUF 17) until he stayed stationary the last couple seconds and got caught with that kick. Then the other guys were just scared. I wasn’t scared, I brought the fight to him.
“I expected it to be a war, which it was, but I expected more flashy stuff and for him to try and keep me away from him. He let me implement my gameplan more than he did his, so obviously it worked out in my favor.”
“I haven’t talked with Dana (White) or Joe (Silva) or anybody, but yeah, that’s what my next move is, or what I want it to be,” “I haven’t really talked to anybody about it yet.
“I am [confident I can make 170.] All my fights have been at 185, but I know that once I get the diet going and my work outs, I’ll be able to make 170 for sure.”
Pretty interesting. Even though Uriah isn’t the best person to compare frames with, you could tell Gastelum looked to be a whole weight class down from where he should be. This just makes welterweight even deeper. Who should he fight next?