Former Title Challenger Kelvin Gastelum Draws Next Opponent at UFC Mexico City

'The Ultimate Fighter' Champion Kelvin Gastelum meets Joe Pyfer at UFC Mexico City.

Christopher De Santiago | Jan 1, 2025

Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

In a career that's had its ups and downs, Kelvin Gastelum returns to fight at middleweight.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 winner spent a short second stint at welterweight, where he lost to Sean Brady in Dec. 2023, but he's back at 185lbs after some weight cut issues and a win over Daniel Rodriguez in June. 3-3 in his last 6 fights, Gastelum will try to turn that around south of the border.

Former Title Challenger Kelvin Gastelum Draws Next Opponent at UFC Mexico City

UFC's Kelvin Gastelum. / Rich Storry-Imagn Images

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Gastelum Goes To War With Joe Pyfer

On Tuesday, MMA Mania's Alex Behunin reported a fight between Gastelum and Joe Pyfer is in the works for a UFC Fight Night event on Mar. 29 in Mexico City, set to go down from Arena CDMX.

4-1 in the UFC, this will be Pyfer's first fight outside of the States. The American suffered his first defeat in the Octagon last year, losing to veteran Jack Hermansson across five rounds. Pyfer eventually rebounded, knocking out Marc-André Barriault at UFC 303 during International Fight Week.

UFC's Joe Pyfer. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Even as a middleweight, Pyfer's got some of the most ruthless power in the promotion with a 92% finish rate. We'll see how the knockout artist stacks up against Gastelum, who's known for his incredible chin and Mexican heart.

Gastelum has never been knocked out in 29 pro fights, seeing the distance against former champs Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, not managing to get past them but able to beat guys like Michael Bisping and Jacare Souza in his heyday.

Once in the tTop 5 of the division, Kelvin Gastelum attempts to build back to what he was: a UFC title contender.