A new report suggests that welterweight stars Johny Hendricks and Kelvin Gastelum will fight at the historic UFC 200 event on July 9th.
That’s the word according to Ariel Helwani over at mmafighting.com, who claims the match-up is currently “in the works” for the show, which will be the focal point of the UFC’s ‘International Fight Week’ celebrations at the brand new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Hendricks is coming off a disappointing first round TKO loss to rising star Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, who was able to pick some major holes in the former champion’s striking at UFC Fight Night 82 last month.
Despite having briefly held the belt, ‘Big Rigg’ has actually lost three of his last five fights (in all fairness against top flight opposition in current champion Lawler, former kingpin GSP and the aforementioned Thompson), so he has a lot to prove heading into this one.
Gastelum is also looking to regroup after a split decision loss to Neil Magny at the TUF: Latin America 2 Finale back in November. That had marked a return to welterweight after a one-fight stint at middleweight in which he TKO’d Nate Marquardt.
As well as battling each other, these two will also be battling their own weight issues, with both having come under fire for missing the 170lb limit in the past. Both have been threatened with getting forced to move permanently to 185lbs if they continue in that manner, so that will be an added concern heading into this bout.
So, as things stand we now have three bouts currently rumored to be destined for UFC 200, with Hendricks Vs Gastelum being joined by Cain Velasquez Vs Travis Browne and Gegard Mousasi Vs Derek Brunson.
Those are all solid fights, but the UFC is still keeping their cards close to their chest regarding the blockbuster, must-see fights that will surely be fronting the show. That being said, as things stand it’s anticipated that Conor McGregor will likely headline the pay-per-view event, with a rematch against Nate Diaz rumored to be in the works.
