Kelvin Gastelum says he “went through the valley of the shadow of death” ahead of return at UFC 287

UFC fighter Kelvin Gastelum has spoken candidly about his journey back to the Octagon ahead of his return this weekend.

While he may only be 31, Kelvin Gastelum has been around for a long time. From his Ultimate Fighter days to becoming a middleweight contender, he’s been involved in some incredible moments over the years.

Recently, though, things haven’t exactly been going his way. He is 1-5 in his last six outings and his last contest, which went down in August 2021, ended in a decision loss to Jared Cannonier.

At UFC 287 on Saturday, he’ll meet Chris Curtis in his comeback bout – and it’s safe to say that he’s ready for the challenge.

“It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind to get here,” Gastelum said. “A couple injuries, a couple camps without fights. So I’m happy to be here, to say the least. … It’s been hard on me, it’s been hard on my family – it’s been hard. I went through the valley of the shadow of death on my own. That’s what it feels like. Mentally I was getting depressed, getting the injuries I was like, ‘What’s going on with my life? Why is this happening?’ I went through all that. But finally I’m on the other side now.”

Gastelum is ready for Curtis

“He’s [Chris Curtis] been having a lot of success boxing people,” Gastelum said. “He stays in your face and he boxes. I don’t see a lot of diversity in his game. He doesn’t kick a lot. … It’s not his main thing. He doesn’t wrestle a lot. But he has really good takedown defense. Nobody’s been able to take him down and keep him down, so he’s just been able to box everybody. It think my game is a little more complete. I have more tools in my tool box and I’m going to be able to pull them out.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

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