UFC Fight Night 27 results: Kelvin Gastelum remains perfect, taps Brian Melancon

INDIANAPOLIS – “The Ultimate Fighter 17? winner Kelvin Gastelum continues to prove his doubters wrong, impressing from start to finish in his welterweight debut.

Gastelum kept his perfect career mark intact with a quick submission win over Brian Melancon.

The welterweight bout was part of today’s UFC Fight Night 27 event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 2 and Facebook.

After some initial punches exchanges on the feet, Gastelum drove in for a takedown, but Melancon moved quickly back to his feet. From there, Gastelum showed improved comfort in his striking as he rifled off punches and fired kicks to the body. It would pay dividends shortly after.

A pair of two-punch combinations wobbled Melancon, and an uppercut dropped him to the floor. Gastelum then moved quickly to the back and locked in a deep rear-naked choke. Melancon tried to resist, but the choke was tight around the neck, and he had no choice but to tap at the 2:26 mark of the first round.

“I wanted to show a bit of everything, and I think I did that,” Gastelum said after the win. “I rocked him and showed my standup, and in the end I got the submission. After I hurt him, I didn’t want to give him a chance to recover, so I just went with the sure thing and sunk in the choke. It worked out.”

Just 21 years old, Gastelum (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) remains undefeated. Melancon (7-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) sees a two-fight win streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 27 results include:

• Kelvin Gastelum def. Brian Melancon via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:26
• Court McGee def. Robert Whittaker via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
• Takeya Mizugaki def. Erik Perez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Brad Tavares def. Robert McDaniel via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Dylan Andrews def. Papy Abedi via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:32
• Brandon Thatch def. Justin Edwards via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:23
• Darren Elkins def. Hatsu Hioki via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jason High def. James Head via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:41
• Zak Cummings def. Ben Alloway via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 4:19
• Roger Bowling vs. Abel Trujillo declared a no-contest (unintentional illegal knee) – Round 2, 4:57

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 27, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Matt Erickson contributed to this report on-site in Indianapolis.