Kelvin Gastelum has been hit with a six month suspension from the sport as a result of failing to attend the UFC 205 weigh-ins in New York City earlier this month.
The former winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 has had a series of issues making the welterweight limit over the years, and indeed in June of last year he was forced to take a fight at middleweight, though after winning that he was given another chance to compete at 170lbs.
However, following the UFC 205 debacle, which saw Gastelum botch his weight cut badly enough that it wasn’t even worth stepping onto the scales, UFC president Dana White stated that he’d, “never let him fight at 170 again.”
Gastelum’s manager, Ali Abdel-Aziz, has stated that they will be looking to appeal the six-month suspension, and had been hoping that the fighter could have stepped in to fight at 185lbs against Tim Kennedy next month at UFC 206 in Toronto, Canada, after his original opponent Rashad Evans was denied a license to fight.
Gastelum had been ranked at No.5 in the welterweight division before his troubles, having claimed a unanimous decision victory over former champion johny Hendricks last time out at UFC 200 in July.
