Kelvin Gastelum rips Tyron Woodley, gets backlash from Ben Askren and others

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley recently announced that he plans to move up to the middleweight division in the near future. This news generated an interesting reaction from top middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum, who Woodley defeated in a catchweight bout in 2015.

https://twitter.com/KelvinGastelum/status/1085252534401265664

“Haha [Tyron Woodley] has never wanted this smoke after we fought the 1st time! He can’t compete at MW,” Gastelum wrote on Twitter.

This comment from Kelvin Gastelum quickly generated backlash from several other members of the MMA community, most notably former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren, a long-time friend and training partner of Woodley.

Hey fat boy he beat you with a broken foot and you didn’t come within 10lbs of making weight. I love me some trash talk, but you should get real. https://t.co/UdHribiIAt

— Funky (@Benaskren) January 15, 2019

“Hey fat boy he beat you with a broken foot and you didn’t come within 10lbs of making weight,” Askren said, referencing the fact that Gastelum missed weight for his fight with Woodley. “I love me some trash talk, but you should get real.”

MMA manager Abe Kawa also offered a response to Gastelum.

https://twitter.com/Abraham_kawa/status/1085294850453499905

“Woodley beat you when you weighed in at middle weight,” Kawa said. “Imagine when he doesn’t have to cut.”

Kelvin Gastelum also received some backlash from MMA fans for this comment. One particular response seemed to strike a nerve, as Gastelum recounted just how harrowing his cut to welterweight was.

Do you laught at the fact that hours prior weigh ins, I was in an emergency hospital bed with doctors filling me with iv fluids!? My mother crying, thinking I’m going to die? …
Still went to weigh ins!
Still fought to a split dec! And forever ridiculed 🤷‍♂️ https://t.co/5ojwwLR7CO

— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) January 16, 2019

“Do you laugh at the fact that hours prior weigh ins, I was in an emergency hospital bed with doctors filling me with iv fluids!?” Gastelum wrote. “My mother crying, thinking I’m going to die? … Still went to weigh ins! Still fought to a split dec! And forever ridiculed.”

Kelvin Gastelum is currently scheduled to battle Robert Whittaker for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 234 in Australia. Tyron Woodley, meanwhile, will attempt to defend his title against Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 in Las Vegas.

Do you think we’ll see a Gastelum vs. Woodley rematch in the middleweight division in the future?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 1/15/2019.