Kelvin Gastelum is set to return to the welterweight division to face top-15 ranked contender Sean Brady at a UFC Fight Night event.
Kelvin Gastelum is slated to make a comeback to the welterweight division with a scheduled fight against top-15 contender Sean Brady happening on December, 2. This bout is part of the UFC Fight Night event, as confirmed by the initial reports of a Twitter user, MagicM_MMABets. Although there’s a verbal agreement between the two fighters, the official contracts are still awaiting signatures.
Gastelum, with a fight record of 17-8-1 NC, is returning to the welterweight division after a steady stint of eight years at 185 pounds. During this period, he had the opportunity to compete for the interim UFC middleweight title back in 2019. Gastelum, who is now 31, initially began his octagon career at welterweight. However, issues with maintaining weight at 170 pounds led him to move up to middleweight in 2016. Over the past five years, Gastelum has had a mixed record with 2 wins and 5 losses across seven matches. However, he found some resurgence in April with a successful Fight of the Night victory over Chris Curtis.
Gastelum was supposed to make his comeback to welterweight in a fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov on September 16, but had to withdraw due to an injury. Meanwhile, Sean Brady, who holds a history of 15 wins and only one loss in his professional career, has been out of the octagon since his first defeat in October 2022 to Belal Muhammad. Brady’s UFC career prior to this loss included five successive victories over counterparts like Michael Chiesa, Jake Matthews, and Court McGee. The 30-year-old Philadelphia native is currently ranked as the world’s number 9 welterweight. The December 2 UFC event, however, does not have an official location or venue to date and is set to feature bouts that include Jared Cannonier vs. Roman Dolidze, Rob Font vs. Deiveson Figueiredo, Miesha Tate vs. Julia Avila, and Khalil Rountree Jr. vs. Azamat Murzakanov. Reporters Mike Heck and Damon Martin have contributed to these updates.