Kelvin Gastelum was able to edge out a hard-hitting striking battle with Daniel Rodriguez at UFC On ABC 6 in Saudi Arabia to win by unanimous decision.
Round One:
Low kick for Gastelum. BOdy kick for Rodriguez. Thigh kick from D-Rod. Punch to the body for Rodriguez. Gastelum presses forward swinging heavy hands.
They move over to the over side of the cage and clinch up briefly. A couple of low kicks exchanged. Short flurry of straight punches from D-Rod.
Gastelum throw a few punches but doesn’t find the mark. Jab to the head and then body from Rodriguez.
Chopping low kick for Gastelum. Body punch from D-Rod. Nice jab from him. Swatting overhand right for Gastelum.
Now an overhand left foor Gastelum. He lands a low kick too and follows up with a jab. Low kick for Rodriguez is met with a punch from Gastelum.
One-two for D-Rod. Inside low kick for Rodriguez. He lands a punch upstairs too. Three-pice combo from Gastelum and then another heavy punch behind it.
Calf kick for Gastelum. He lands another of those. Blistering combination to the head and body from D-Rod.
Kick to the body from Gastelum. Heavy body punch for Gastelum and then a hook. Punch to the body from D-Rod now.
Three-piece combo from the aggressive Gastelum and he continues to apply pressure in the final seconds of the round.
Round Two:
Imediately back to the striking battle they go. Inside leg kick for Gastelum. Short series of punches from Rodriguez.
A couple more punches land for D-Rod. he pumps out the jab now. Heavy left hand lands for him. Rodriguez fires back with punches.
Rodriguez with more punches and one to the body. Cleaner work from D-Rod, but Gastelum still coming forward. D-Rod working the jab, but then Gastelum drives into a takedown and lands it.
Rodriguez gets to the cage and stands back up. Back to striking range and Gastelum misses with an overhand.
Punishing body punches from Gastelum. Left hand lands for him, but then Rodriguez lands some ripping punches to the body and head.
Left hand lands for Gastelum. Gastelum with a jab now. Jab for D-Rod. Gastelum with a jab. Low kick from Gastelum knocks D-Rod off-balance for a moment and then lands a punch too.
Heavy calf kicks from Gastelum but then D-Rod clocks him with a good hook. Hard one-two for Rodriguez. Nicely executed single-leg for Gastelum right at the horn sounds.
Round Three:
Gastelum punches to the body and then a couple upstairs. Body kick for him. Inside leg kick for Gastelum. He lands another low kick.
left hand for Gastelum and a counter flurry lands for D-Rod. Jab and a body punch from Rodriguez. Solid right hook for Gastelum.
Jab for D-Rod and then a harder one in return from Gastelum. Both land the jab at the same time. Inside leg kick from Gastelum. Body punch from D-Rod. He lands that again and then a couple of light punches upstairs.
Nice punches from D-Rod, though not at full power. Gastelum lands a big takedown and is now working in side control.
Gastelum staying patient here. D-Rod gets him back into his guard. Gastelum gets to half-guard. Gastelum postures up and lands a right hand. Gastelum stands, looks for a few punches then opts to back off.
Gastelum in on another quick takedown attempt and stays on top in the final seconds of the round.
Decision:
This was a competitive back-and-forth battle, but Gastelum was constantly applying pressure and being aggressive with hard-hitting strikes, and that helped him secure a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 30-27 x2). The fact that he had the fight switched to 185lbs during fight week due to a botched weight cut does take some of the sheen off his win though.
