Dana White on Gastelum’s Weigh-In Miss: I’ll Never Let Him Fight at 170 Again

Earlier this morning, UFC 205‘s stacked main card took a significant hit when welterweight contender Kelvin Gastelum failed to make weight for his planned bout with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Though weigh-in misses do not typically result in the cancelation of a fight outright, Gastelum’s was severe enough that it forced him off the card altogether, leaving Cowboy without an opponent, and depriving fans of a highly anticipated fight.

This weight related slip up is unfortunately not Gastelum’s first. In his eight scheduled welterweight bouts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the 25-year-old has missed weight 3 times, first for a 2014 bout with Nico Musoke, then for a 2015 bout with Tyron Woodley and most recently for this nixed bout with Cowboy. He also very nearly missed weight for a mid-2016 bout with Johny Hendricks.

Gastelum has been punished for his repeated weigh-in misses in the past. After missing weight for the aforementioned bout with Woodley by a whopping 10 pounds, he was sent packing to the middleweight division, where he would score a nice stoppage win over Nate Marquardt. After this defeat of Marquardt, however, Gastelum was allowed to return to the welterweight division.

According to UFC President Dana White, Gastelum will now be forced back up to middleweight. And this time around, his move to the division will be permanent. In effect, he’s received a lifetime ban from the welterweight division.

.@UFC Prez @DanaWhite is NOT happy with @KelvinGastelum for missing weight. Hear from the boss himself what he plans to do about it. #UFC205 pic.twitter.com/luVhm8sXyt

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 11, 2016

“I’ll never let him fight at 170 again,” White told Andy Nesbitt of FOX Sports. “I think he missed this one by 10 pounds.”

So, there you have it. Though he has shown flashes of great potential at welterweight, Gastelum’s repeated weight issues mean his fighting future will now be confined to the middleweight division.

According to several reports, Gastelum’s opponent Cowboy is now apparently being considered for a bout at UFC 206 this December 10 in Toronto. These reports suggest he’ll be paired with fellow fan favorite Matt Brown on the card.

Do you think it’s fair of Dana White to ostracize Gastelum from the welterweight division from here on out? Sound off in the comments section, PENN Nation!