Top ranked contenders, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum will headline in this unmissable middleweight bout. Originally, Cannonier was scheduled to fight Paulo Costa, but he pulled out as a protest to being underpaid by UFC. Queue Gastelum who stepped up as his replacement.
To make his point, Costa took to Twitter saying, “UFC needs to pay me as main fighter to have fighting in main events. Youtubers are showing all disgrace on this business. Just to be clear. I never signed or locked up that contract. Why UFC announced this fight if I didn’t sign? My question too.”
Cannonier respects Costa’s decision to withdraw telling Submission Radio,
“It’s a very bold stance to say, ‘I’m not gonna fight unless you guys pay me some more money. But, yeah, someone’s gotta fight for us fighters to get paid more.”
Away from the offside controversy, both fighters are returning to the Octagon with a vengeance, having fallen to defeat in their last appearances. Cannonier and Gastelum both took a blow to former Australian middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker last April. Question is who’s got what it takes to bag this fight and have a shot at the title belt?
No.3 ranked contender Cannonier is looking to make up for his last loss, and instead cement his spot into title contention. His recent fights have seen him bag three straight wins to Jack Hermansson, Anderson Silva and David Branch. Impressively Cannonier took all these wins via KO/TKO. Can he do it again and defeat Gastelum?
Currently ranked No.9 in the division, Kelvin Gastelum is closely chasing Cannonier’s tail. Like Cannonier he’s returning to the Octagon to snag a win after losing to former champion, Robert Whittaker. During this fight he was defeated by unanimous decision, which added to his losses against Jack Hermansson, Darren Till and Adesanya. He has however had wins over Ian Heinisch (early this Feb), Jacare Souza and Michael Bisping.
Will this fight be Gastelum’s chance to climb the ranks to the title belt?
Whichever way it goes, for both fighters the match will be crucial in determining who will face the title champion.
*Undercard TBC - stay tuned
MAIN CARD
Middleweight Bout
Paulo Costa vs. Kelvin Gastelum