Judging by the messages left by the fighters in the social network, the welterweight bout between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Kelvin Gastelum, which did not take place last week due to the American’s injury, is still on.
“After five weeks of training in Thailand, I am sad to leave,” Gastelum wrote. “But I was called, and when duty calls, I answer. Will make another title run.”
“How’s your diet, Kelvin? Ready for UFC 295?” the Kazakhstani fighter responded to his opponent’s words.
The fight between Rakhmonov and Gastelum was scheduled to take place on September 16 at UFC Fight Night 227 in Las Vegas, however, a month and a half before the event, the American withdrew from the bout after suffering a severe dissection and a broken nose in training.
Gastelum immediately offered to move the fight to the card of UFC 295, which takes place Nov. 11 in New York, but Rakhmonov wanted to compete three weeks earlier at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.
Kelvin Gastelum, 31, last fought at welterweight in July 2016, winning a unanimous decision over Johny Hendricks. In April of this year, the American put his career back on track after two losses, winning a unanimous decision over Chris Curtis, and currently remains ranked tenth in the UFC’s middleweight division rankings.
No. 6 ranked welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov earned his fifth early victory in the UFC in March with a third-round choke finish of Jeff Neal. The 28-year-old from Kazakhstan is undefeated and is riding an impressive streak of seventeen early wins as a professional.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/32690-shavkat-rakhmonov-nazval-novuyu-datu-boya-s-kelvinom-gastelumom.html?rand=19907
