Kelvin Gastelum is headed back to the middleweight division where he’ll face Nate Marquardt at UFC 188 in Mexico on June 13th.
Gastelum had been making his impression felt in the welterweight division since winning the TUF show back in 2013, notching up four wins in a row, but during that period he began having issues cutting weight.
Initially he failed to make the limit for his fight with Nico Musoke back in June of last year, then he came in at a whopping 180lbs for his last fight with Tyrone Woodley which he ended up losing by split decision.
That proved to be the final straw and so he’ll now look to make a go of it in the 185lb ranks instead against Marquardt who’s also recently moved up after an unsuccessful stint at welterweight.
So far Marquardt has gone 1-1 since returning to middleweight, while taking a look at the bigger picture the 35 year-old has only won once in his last five fights so this is going to be a very important fight for him as he attempts to rediscover his form and keep his place on the roster.
Gastelum Vs Marquardt joins the main pay-per-view card for the UFC’s second trip to Mexico which will be headlined by a heavyweight title unification bout between Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum with Gilbert Melendez Vs Eddie Alvarez set for the co-main event spot.
