Should Kelvin Gastelum move down to Welterweight? (Opinion)

After the quick submission loss against Jack Hermansson, Kelvin Gastelum is on a three-fight losing streak in the middleweight division. This is unfamiliar territory for Kelvin Gastelum, who was once the No.1 contender for the undisputed UFC middleweight title.

Kelvin Gastelum lost to Israel Adesanya in one of the greatest title fights in UFC history.

He faced defeat against Darren Till in a closely contested fight. However, the loss against Jack Hermansson has tarnished the middleweight run of Gastelum.

Though Gastelum is still a top-ranked fighter in the UFC Middleweight division, it is hard not to imagine how he would perform if he goes down to Welterweight division.

Kelvin Gastelum has some massive wins at the middleweight division. He has wins over Jacare Souza, Tim Kennedy, Michael Bisping, and Vitor Belfort (which was later overturned). However, all these wins are against fighters who were past their prime. And the win over Souza was a close decision.

Gastelum is probably the smallest Middleweight in UFC. He will always have a size disadvantage in the division especially against the likes of Darren Till, Paulo Costa, and Jared Cannonier. Despite that, Kelvin Gastelum has done enough damage against some of the toughest fighters in the division. But should Kelvin Gastelum move down to welterweight for bigger and better things?

Kelvin Gastelum is a bad matchup for top UFC welterweights

Kelvin Gastelum has missed weight on multiple occasions at the Welterweight division. He missed weight in his fights against Tyron Woodley, Johnny Hendricks, and Niko Musoce. UFC banned Gastelum from Welterweight division and forced him to move up to middleweight after he did not make weight for the fight against Donald Cerrone.

But since then, Kelvin Gastelum has been one of the most exciting talents to watch in UFC. He gave us a massive title fight against Israel Adesanya and has wins over former UFC champions. If Gastelum can get his nutrition on point and make weight for Welterweight, then he will be a force to be reckoned with.

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Kelvin Gastelum has huge knockout power and is a threat with his striking prowess. He is phenomenal at wrestling. Stylistically, he is a nightmare matchup for the top Welterweights such as Jorge Masvidal, Kamaru Usman, and Colby Covington.

There are plenty of exciting fights for Kelvin Gastelum at the Welterweight division and he even has the potential to win the title. However, it would take a little convincing for UFC to allow Gastelum to fight at welterweight again.