Is Kelvin Gastelum Mexican? All you need to know about the explosive welterweight fighter's heritage and background

Kelvin Gastelum is a UFC fighter who has been competing in the multi-billion dollar promotion for over a decade. During that time, the 33-year-old competed in the welterweight and middleweight divisions.

Gastelum was born on October 24, 1991, in San Jose, California. He is of Mexican heritage, and his family is from Obregon, Sonoro, a state in the country of Mexico. He spent a part of his childhood in Obregon. Later, Gastelum moved to Arizona in the United States.

Gastelum was also a part of UFC 180, the promotion's first event to take place in Mexico. The card was held on November 15, 2014, at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City. An interim heavyweight title clash between Fabricio Werdum and Mark Hunt headlined the card.

Gastelum took on Jake Ellenberger in a welterweight showdown in the co-main event of the fight card. The former made quick work of his opponent and submitted him with a rear-naked choke in the first round of the fight.

Gastelum has been a part of 23 UFC fights and has gotten his hand raised in 13 of them. During his UFC tenure, the 33-year-old has shared the octagon with the several prominent fighters like Uriah Hall, Tyron Woodley, Neil Magny, Johny Hendricks, Tim Kennedy, Vitor Belfort, Chris Weidman, Michael Bisping, Ronaldo Souza, Israel Adesanya, Darren Till, Jack Hermansson, Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier and Sean Brady.

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When will Kelvin Gastelum compete again?

Kelvin Gastelum is all set to return to action at the upcoming UFC Mexico card, which will take place on March 29. The event will be held at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico.

He will lock horns against Joe Pyfer in a middleweight scrap on the main card. The event will be headlined by a flyweight clash between Brandon Moreno and Steve Erceg.

Gastelum is currently going through a rough patch in the UFC. The California native has managed to win only four of his last 10 encounters. His last fight ended in a unanimous decision win against Daniel Rodriguez in June 2024.

Rodriguez, on the other hand, has not competed since getting back in the win column with a first-round knockout win over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 303 in June 2024. Prior to that, he suffered his first UFC defeat against Jack Hermansson in February 2024.