Going into this fight, Kelvin Gastelum has been the one TUF winner to keep an eye on and he has yet to disappoint. He came into this fight undefeated and has been climbing the welterweight rankings since joining the promotion. Sadly, Gastelum, criticized heavily for his diet during his training camps, failed to make weight as he came in at 172.75 pounds.
Nico Musoke is undefeated in the UFC, winning his first two fights and took home submission of the night in his debut. He is a good grappler and has demonstrated solid skill, but Gastelum is by far his toughest challenge.
In this first round, Musoke seemed like a man possessed, being able to take down Gastelum a few times and gained the offensive edge very early. He was close to landing a rear naked choke but Gastelum’s defense was absolutely superb. Maybe this round had a lot to do with Gastelum not making weight, as Musoke was clearly getting his revenge for the first five minutes.
For the next two rounds, much of the same happened. After a stellar first round, Musoke started getting dominated on the feet and was looking more and more gassed as time went on. By the third round, Gastelum’s striking was at another level while Musoke was barely able to stand. If there’s anything to give Musoke credit on it’s his chin, as he took devastating combos for the last two rounds but kept pushing forward. As a result of these two rounds, Gastelum was able to walk away with the unanimous decision.
Despite the failed weight cut, Gastelum is at the top of the list when it comes to up and coming UFC fighters. He is still the 11th ranked fighter in the welterweight division but that should change soon. Is it time for the UFC to hand him a top 10 opponent? It would seem so, especially if it will help him take his weight cut more seriously and force him to take his game, both physically and mentally, to the next level.
