Kelvin Gastelum eyes potential return to welterweight after one more fight at middleweight: “It’s not outside the realm of possibilities”

Kelvin Gastelum is thinking about returning to welterweight.

Gastelum fought at welterweight seven times inside the UFC but missed weight twice, including one when he weighed-in at 180lbs. After having trouble making weight he made the permanent move to welterweight in 2016 and had success right away. Gastelum 3-1 and one No Contest to earn an interim title shot which he lost to Israel Adesanya.

Since the loss to Adesanya, Gastelum has gone 1-4 and in his last six he’s 1-5. As he’s set to return in January against Nasourdine Imavov, he revealed that this may be his final middleweight bout as he’s looking at returning to 170lbs.

“It’s something that I’ve thought about,” Gastelum told MMA Junkie. “I want to take one more fight at 185 pounds, and then after that, we’ll see if we make those changes to come back to 170. It’s not outside the realm of possibilities.”

Gastelum Wishes There Was A 175lbs Division

Gastelum would be another big name in the welterweight division if he does drop down. But, whether or not he can make the weight is another question, as for Gastelum he wishes there was a 175lbs division.

“Yeah, definitely, I would’ve benefited from an 175-pound category,” Gastelum said. “I would’ve liked that, but it was never made.”

Kelvin Gastelum (16-8 and one No Contest) is set to headline the first UFC event of 2023 against Imavov. Should he win, he would be back fighting top-10 opponents while a loss would likely put him out of the rankings.

Gastelum last fought in August of 2021 when he dropped a decision to Jared Cannonier. He was supposed to fight Dricus du Plessis at UFC 273 in April but suffered an injury. On the skid, he dropped a decision to Robert Whittaker after defeating Ian Heinisch.

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