Kelvin Gastelum’s UFC Losses: How Many Times Has the UFC Star Been Defeated? Record, Winning Streak, and More

UFC welterweight and former middleweight star Kelvin Gastelum has made a name for himself inside one of the toughest divisions of the promotion. The American, who had previously won The Ultimate Fighter 17, is currently gearing up for his fight against Daniel Rodriguez in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

Prior to applying his trade for the promotion, Gastelum featured in local promotions where he remained undefeated throughout his stint. But it all changed as he entered the shark-filled waters of the biggest MMA production house in the world. After starting his career with UFC in 2013, the American has incurred 9 losses till now. Let’s look at all the fighters who have defeated him inside the octagon.

Kelvin Gastelum vs Tyron Woodley- ‘The Chosen One’ stops the juggernaut

Gastelum raced to 6 wins after making his debut with the promotion. In his 7th match, he faced Tyron Woodley at UFC 183. Prior to the fight, he had missed the weight, and thus he would have paid 30% of his fight fee to the opponent. The first round was as idle as it could get. Both men stalked each other for most of the round and tried to connect some punches once in a while which didn’t connect.

In the second round, both men slowly opened up and Woodley picked the pace in the middle of the round. He connected with a nice body kick and also landed a much-feared right hand that shook Gastelum for once. Although he survived that, his wobbling gave Woodley some confidence, and he connected with a few more to end the round on top.

In the third round, Gastelum started with a sense of urgency. He threw quick combinations, and the pressure got to Woodley. He pressed Woodley to the cage but couldn’t land some decisive blows. Although he won that round, it had little impact on the match as judges declared Woodley as the winner via unanimous decision. After the fight, Woodley denied taking a share of Gastelum’s fight purse. He said it was enough for Gastelum to miss the weight and lose the fight.

Gastelum vs Neil Magny

Gastelum fought Neil Magny in the main event of UFC Fight Night 78. For the first couple of rounds, he was totally out-wrestled by Magny. In rounds 3 and 4, he made a comeback and now all depended on the fifth-round performance. Gastelum started round five with a rush, but Magny landed a couple of good strikes. Kelvin Gastelum got a takedown but couldn’t land anything significant.

Both fighters got back to their feet and Gastelum had Magny on the defensive side for the rest of the round. In a crucial moment, Gastelum threw a punch, but Mangy ducked, clinched, and worked for a takedown. Gastelum reversed the position and fired some big strikes until the final horn. In the end, the judges gave the match to Magny.

Kelvin Gastelum vs Chris Weidman- the veteran gets the job done

Kelvin Gastelum fought Chris Weidman at UFC on Fox 25. ‘The All-American’ started the game by taking takedown attempts. He got one and worked his way from thereon. While locking Kimura, he gave a sniff of a chance to Gastelum, who smashed into Weidman’s jaw and nearly ended the fight. But the bell saved him.

 In the second round, Weidman again secured a takedown and took control of Gastelum’s back. Unlike the first round, Gastelum couldn’t find his way up. The round ended with Weidman on top. In the third round, Weidman reminded his hometown fans he was a super grappler as he set up the arm-triangle choke that ended the night for Gastelum.

Interim title fight loss to Israel Adesanya

One of the most annoying things about Gastelum is his problem with the weight cuts. After failing to make weight cuts in welterweight, Dana White made him choose middleweight as his perennial home. But it didn’t stop him from picking up victories as he picked up the bulk of wins before Israel Adesanya stopped his juggernaut. Both faced each other for the interim title in the absence of Robert Whittaker at UFC 236. For the first four rounds, it was a tie apiece. Both gave their heart out and probably fought the best fight of their careers.

In round five, Kelvin Gastelum pushed the pace and attempted to seal the deal with a takedown. But Adesanya was the fresher fighter, and he eventually pummeled Gastelum with punching combinations that dropped Gastelum into the canvas with a minute to go. The New Zealander crashed Gastelum with an elbow on the mat and pummeled him with ground-and-pound, but Gastelum made it to the last. In the end, it was enough to secure Adesanya the win.

Gastelum vs Darren Till- ‘The Gorilla’ takes center stage

Gastelum fought Darren Till at UFC 244. Both men were looking for a win after suffering losses in their previous matches. Till started with a series of leg kicks to keep Gastelum on the back foot. But both fighters were visibly wary of each other’s power game and thus started cautiously.

After a slow start to the fight, both fighters got busier in the second round, with Till using his reach and power to give Gastelum some trouble on the feet. Gastelum replied with a few leg kicks but struggled to put together his boxing combinations with any real potency.

The third round saw followed the same suit. Till connected with a sharp left hand that blasted Gastelum. In return, Gastelum started winging his power left punch, looking to shift the momentum, but he was struggling big time to connect. In the end, Till’s offense was enough to secure him a split-decision win.

Jack Hermansson downs Gastelum

After suffering back-to-back defeats, Gastelum was under some pressure to get the job done. He fought Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 172, but the fight turned out to be a brief affair. The round opened with rapid-fire succession as Hermansson looked for an early body takedown. Gastelum recognized it and countered it with a beautiful throw-down of his own.

Although he landed on top, he couldn’t get back to his feet quickly enough. That left a gap for Hermansson to pick up. Hermansson saw Gastelum’s leg exposed and grabbed onto the ankle before adjusting to the heel hook position. The fighter then applied the torque and, ultimately, Gastelum had to tap to save himself from further damage.

‘The Reaper’ dominates Kelvin Gastelum

Kelvin Gastelum was initially scheduled to face Paulo Costa, but Robert Whittaker replaced the latter at UFC on ESPN 22. He started with aggressive intent initially. He took control of the center of the Octagon, but ‘The Reaper’ was quick to reverse. He connected with a strong head kick that landed accurately to push Gastelum onto the back foot.

Whittaker showed his wrestling pedigree to make matters worse for Gastelum. He took down the former Ultimate Fighter winner and held till the bell rang. The Reaper continued to pick apart an aggressive-looking Gastelum with reversals rather than forcing an issue with takedowns. In the end, it was enough for the Australian to pick up a unanimous decision.

The last two losses of Kelvin Gastelum

The last two losses that Kelvin Gastelum suffered came in two different weight classes. The 8th loss came against Jared Cannonier in a close fight where Gastelum landed a total of 89 out of his 246 strike attempts compared to ‘The Killa Gorilla’s 91 strikes out 218. Ultimately, the 32-year-old would lose the fight via a unanimous decision.

The most recent loss of Kelvin Gastelum came when he decided to move back to the welterweight division, and Sean Brady was there to welcome him back this past December. The fight went through all three rounds but Gastelum would find himself on the troubling end of a submission position and would get submitted by Brady with a Kimura lock.

These were all the losses for Kelvin Gastelum in the octagon. Which of these do you think would have hurt him the most? And can he turn around his luck this time out against Daniel Rodriguez? Drop your comments below.