Though Kelvin Gastelum believes his ideal weight class is welterweight, he has agreed to stay at middleweight for his next fight to meet Vitor Belfort.
The bout is set for a UFC Fight Night event on March 11 in Fortaleza, Brazil, according to AgFight, which confirmed an initial report by Combate.
Gastelum (13-2) has had difficulty making the welterweight cutoff on several occasions, most recently having a UFC 205 bout with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone canceled due to his failure to make weight.
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He rebounded from that setback on Dec. 10 in Toronto by taking a fight with Tim Kennedy in the middleweight division at UFC 206. Gastelum won the fight via a TKO stoppage in the third round.
After that fight, Gastelum said that he still believed the welterweight was his ideal weight class, but would entertain fighting again at middleweight if the right fights, such as against the likes of Belfort, were offered.
The UFC was apparently listening and quickly put the fight together with Belfort on the Brazilian’s home turf.
Belfort (25-13) has found struggled over the past couple of years, losing three of his four most recent bouts. He’ll kick off 2017 against Gastelum after being stopped by Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in his two bouts this year.
The UFC has yet to make the bout official or announce details of the March 11 event.
