“He Is Undefeated and…”: Former Opponent and UFC Hofer Dismisses “Ballsy” Kelvin Gastelum’s Claim of Being a “Nightmare Matchup” for Shavkat Rakhmonov

UFC Fighters moving up and down weight classes is the order of the day, today. Kelvin Gastelum has recently announced that he would be moving back down to the 170-pound Welterweight division after having competed in the Middleweight division for a fair amount of time. This changes the power dynamic in the Welterweight group.

However, Gastelum did get a welcoming party. Not the kind he was expecting but the kind he is happy to ‘accept’. A fighter from the Welterweight division decided to call out Kelvin Gastelum and initiate him into the Welterweight division. The fighter happens to be the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. Gastelum, being the fighter that he is, accepted and now, UFC Legend Michael Bisping took to his YouTube podcast to talk about this.

A Nightmare on UFC’s Street – Kelvin Gastelum vs Shavkat Rakhmonov

UFC fighters are seldom scared of one another. That is why when undefeated Welterweight fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov called out Gastelum ahead of his return to the 170-pound division, via a tweet, Gastelum gladly accepted the fight by deeming it worthy of a return match. He also went ahead and claimed that he was looking for a matchup just like this – that lets him swim with the ‘sharks’.

UFC Legend Michael Bisping spoke extensively about this and shared his opinion in his recent video on his YouTube channel. “Kelvin Gastelum said that he would welcome up a match-up with Shavkat Rakhmonov, in his return to the 170-pound division… He’s a ballsy man.“, said Bisping. 

Co-host Mike Harrington said that Kelvin Gastelum claimed that he would be a ‘nightmare matchup’ for the undefeated Welterweight fighter. To this, Michael Bisping said, “Yeah well, I don’t know about that. Shavkat is a nightmare matchup for anyone. I think he’s 16 and 0 and all finishes. [inaudible] 16 or 17 whatever it is – he is undefeated and they’re all finishes.“. 

Rakhmonov & Gastelum – UFC Records that speak for themselves

Kelvin Gastelum lost two of his last three matches in the Middleweight division. He won his last match against Chris Curtis but lost two fights to Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier, both of whom are currently gunning for the title shot against Israel Adesanya.

Shavkat Rakhmonov stepped into the UFC Octagon in  2020 at UFC 254. Since then, the Nomad has been winning every single fight that he has been a part of. He is currently riding a professional MMA undefeated record of 17-0-0.

Although these are just numbers and anything can happen in the Octagon, Rakhmonov is definitely not an opponent one should take lightly. Similarly, Gastelum is a prolific fighter, capable of inflicting critical damage at any point during a match.

Dive Deeper – Shavkat Rakhmonov Fires Back With a 2-Word Message at Kelvin Gastelum as UFC Star’s Back and Forth Fuel Fight Rumors

Who do you think would take the win and how? Let us know in the comments below.

Watch This Story – 51 year old Elon Musk does not get his mother’s approval for Mark Zuckerberg fight