Kelvin Gastelum has been on a tear since his surprise, winning run on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17, constantly proving himself in increasingly difficult match ups. Tonight, he faces the toughest test of his career in the form of welterweight contender Tyron Woodley.
In recent years, many hardcore mixed martial arts (MMA) fans have bashed the long-standing Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) reality show, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), for rarely developing top fighters. Many fighters come out of these seasons, but few ever make it as big names within the Octagon ... even the winners of the tournament.
Well, tonight (Sat., Jan. 31, 2015) Kelvin Gastelum will look to be an exception to this generalization, taking on Tyron Woodley in the co-main event of UFC 183 from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Woodley -- a Strikeforce alum with wins over Dong Hyun Kim, Josh Koscheck and Carlos Condit -- will look to score a second straight win in his bid to get a shot at the Welterweight title.
Gastelum's rise to the top started out when he was just a and undefeated (5-0) Middleweight prospect who won his way into TUF house. His game focused mainly on his high-level wrestling with a powerful, yet sloppy striking approach to complement.
Gastelum wasn't particularly impressive getting into the house. And at just 21 years old, he clearly lacked the experience some of the other fighters possessed. As such, he was picked seventh by Team Sonnen, the second to last pick of the 14 Middleweight competitors to make it into the house.
Regardless, Gastelum was not put off by this, and thrived as the underdog throughout the show. His first two wins were fights he wasn't particularly overlooked in, but when he fought Josh Samman in the semifinals, many people thought he'd lose. He silenced the doubters impressively, making quick work of Samman with a rear-naked choke finish in the very first round.
This set up a match up in the finals between Gastelum and the show's main attraction, Uriah Hall. Hall was hyped up throughout the show, and knocked out all three of his opponents en route to the finals, including his vicious spinning back kick knockout of Adam Cella that made it viral.
Gastelum was a heavy underdog for the final, and faced a lot of doubt going into the fight. His striking was deemed far worse than Hall's, and he'd have to overcome a huge reach and size advantage to close the distance and impose his wrestling game. Despite this, Gastelum managed to put on a brilliant performance, flooring Hall time and time again.
The fight was competitive, but Gastelum performed well above expectations and was awarded a split decision victory.
Even still, Gastelum wasn't regarded as highly as perhaps he should have been. Even I was guilty of underrating him, and I, like many others, attributed his win over Hall to him under performing in a high-pressure fight. Gastelum has quickly put these doubts to rest, however, and he has notched an impressive number of wins since dropping to the welterweight division.
Gastelum's once sloppy striking game has become honed and technical, utilizing straight punches and smart movement, as well as a high level of output. He has a hell of a chin, and has good killer instinct, making him a very difficult opponent to best. Beyond this, he has also improved his already-good grappling game, clearly becoming more comfortable with setups for his takedowns and his ability to advance position on the mat. He's particularly skilled in scrambles, and showed that off to great effect when he trounced Jake Ellenberger in Mexico at UFC 180.
Now, just two months later, Gastelum looks to advance to 11-0 in what will surely be the most high-profile fight of his career. Woodley is no joke, and has a similar skill set to Gastelum's, and has improved at a similar rate despite a nine-year age difference between the two.
Gastelum's gameplan in this fight is going to have to be one where he takes initiative throughout the fight. Woodley thrives against opponents content to let the fight go as it may, and catches them off guard with his big punches that come from nothing. Woodley has historically struggled when put under pressure, as seen in his lopsided losses to Nate Marquardt and Rory MacDonald, and Gastelum has to draw inspiration from those two bouts.
Gastelum's footwork is definitely better than Woodley's, which is what this fight will come down to. Woodley's inability to fight well going backward can be used against him here, and I expect Gastelum to even threaten with takedowns just to make it that much more difficult for Woodley to attempt any offense. Gastelum has to go out and keep Woodley quiet by staying in his face, which he's more than capable of doing.
With a win over Woodley, it isn't inconceivable for Gastelum to move into the very open 170-pound title picture. He'd be two or three wins away from a title shot, and with how often he fights, that could mean a title shot in 2015 if he can line up a top contender fight in good time.
He just needs to take care of business inside the Octagon ... AND STOP EATING SO MUCH.
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