“Viva Mi Raza”- Israel Adesanya Responds to a Kelvin Gastelum Shoutout

UFC middleweight fighter Kelvin Gastelum used to fight near the summit of his division. He learned a lot from these battles and spoke about one fight in particular in a social media Q & A session. The fighter praised middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for his showing in their clash for the interim championship last year.

‘The Last Stylebender‘ saw the compliment and responded with the words, “Viva Mi Raza!!!”

Kelvin Gastelum named the UFC 236 fight as one where his opponent surprised him by being better than he expected him to be. He wrote, “I did not expect Israel to be as tough as he was. The level of punishment taken on both sides would’ve made many many many great fighters quit.”

In another tweet, he praised Adesanya’s power as ‘The Last Stylebender’ is the only fighter to drop him in a match. He also claimed that it was his favorite UFC fight to date.

Finally, the fighter claimed that “it’s inevitable” for him to rematch Adesanya. 

However, Gastelum is on his worst losing run as a professional fighter. He will need to get some wins under his belt if the Adesanya rematch is to happen.

Kelvin Gastelum has endured a slump after the Israel Adesanya loss

The 28-year-old beat Michael Bisping and Ronaldo Souza to earn a crack at the interim title. Despite a good showing, his career seems to have hit a roadblock. Gastelum has gone in reverse and lost to Darren Till on the Brit’s debut at 185 pounds. 

Earlier this year, Jack Hermansson made short work of him by applying a heel hook and submitting him in just 78 seconds. As a result, the Kings MMA fighter languishes at eighth in the rankings. This is a spot below Derek Brunson, who fans see as a gatekeeper. 

Meanwhile, Adesanya has soared to become the undisputed champion and defended his belt at UFC 248. He will make another defense against Paulo Costa and would have to capitulate spectacularly for the UFC to even consider booking him against Kelvin Gastelum in the next two years. 

Read: Israel Adesanya Says He Might Have to ‘Pull Back’ Ahead of UFC 253

Adesanya is a tough opponent and a resilient fighter. But Gastelum has faced him and taken a load of his best shots. Hence, a rematch will not see him enter the unknown. This time, he would not make the error of underestimating ‘The Last Stylebender’ as he did in their first fight.