Kelvin Gastelum served up a reminder of his clinch work and wrestling skills tonight at UFC 258 as he comfortably defeated Ian Heinisch on the scorecards.
Round One:
Low leg kick for Heinisch. Now one on the outside. Heinisch in on an early takedown in the center of the Octagon, but Gastelum gets straight up.
Heinisch trying again for the takedown. Gastelum gets out of that and now he’s the one getting the takedown. Heinisch working on a kimura from his back, but Gastelum gets his arm free.
Heinisch stands, but Gastelum is still thinking about bringing him back down. As he does so Heinisch goes to the kimura again, but Gastelum landed in full mount and is able to ride this out and get his arm free.
Good job from Heinisch to get back to his feet. Gastelum missing with a head kick attempt. They clinch up and it’s Gastelum who presses Heinisch into the mat.
Heinisch trying for the muay thai clinch with his back against the cage, but Gastelum works a takedown. Heinisch straight back to his feet, but Gastelum stays tight to him.
They finally break apart and go back to striking range. Body kick from Gastelum. Heinisch with a low leg kick.
Right hand from Heinisch, but Gastelum also lands. Heinisch attempts a spin attack, but slips as the round ends.
Round Two:
Chopping leg kicks from Gastelum. Nice right hand from Heinisch. Heinisch attempting to reach in for a takedown, but quickly abandons that attempt.
Gastelum swinging hard but just coming up short. left hand sneak through for Gastelum. Clipping left hook for Heinisch. Heinisch attempts a flying knee, but Gastelum just grabs him and works the takedown.
Gastelum in half-guard here close to the center of the Octagon. Heinisch gets to his knees and stands back up with Gastelum still latched to his back.
They go back to striking range now. Solid body kick for Heinisch and then a leg kick. Gastelum clinching up again against the cage. He tries to work a takedown, but it doesn’t pay off and Heinisch gets back to striking range.
Heinisch with a kick. Gastelum gets hold of Heinisch again and shunts to his back. He attempts a takedown and Heinisch shows good balance to stay upright and so Gastelum backs up.
Kick for Gastelum. Heinisch pressures with strikes, but doesn’t find the mark. Left hand for Gastelum. Now a body kick for him.
Punch for Gastelum, kick for Heinisch. Left hand for Gastelum, body kick from Heinisch. Inside leg kick for him.
Once again Gastelum clinches up, moves around to the back and walks Heinisch over to the cage in the final seconds of the round.
Round Three:
Leg kicks exchanged. Gastelum reaches for a single leg and then disengages. Both men exchange and Heinisch gets the better of it with a right hand.
Heinisch goes for a takedown, but Gastelum scrambles straight back to his feet. Gastelum clinches up and has Heinisch’s back again. Nothing doing from here though and they go back to the center of the Octagon.
Uppercut from Gastelum and then a hook and kick behind it. Nice one-two for him. Flying knee attempt again from Heinisch, but again Gastelum uses that to land a nice takedown.
Heinisch able to roll on top and takes Gastelum’s back in the center of the Octagon. He has his hooks in and with two minutes to go he’s now going to try and set up a submission.
Heinisch with punches to the head to soften Gastelum up. Heinisch opts to try to get to full mount, then takes the back again as Gastelum scrambles. Heinisch losing position here and it’s Gastelum who ends up on top.
They stand up with Gastelum looking to clinch, but Heinisch rolls out. Back to striking, but not for long as Gastelum is relentlessly pursuing the clinch.
Gastelum with a knee. They look to trade punches, but then it’s Heinisch who lands a double-leg takedown. Gastelum does well to quickly get back up and then immediately takes Heinisch down and connects with a punch as the round ends.
Decision:
Heinisch tried his best to make it competitive, but Gastelum was consistently getting the better of the action here and he emerges with a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 29-28 x2).
