UFC Fight Night 106's Kelvin Gastelum rips GSP title shot, says winning big fights is key

FORTALEZA, Brazil – Victorious UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum wants the fights that will eventually earn him a title shot, even if he’s unsure he’ll get unfairly passed over for one.

After railroading ex-champ Vitor Belfort (25-14 MMA, 14-10 UFC) in the headliner of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 106, Gastelum (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) again called for a fight with ex-champ Anderson Silva (34-8 MMA, 17-4 UFC) while admitting the promotion’s recent matchmaking gives him pause.

“Because what’s the point of having contenders, what’s the point of having rankings if we’re not going to follow the rankings, if we’re not going to follow the No. 1 contenders? It just doesn’t make any sense,” Gastelum told MMAjunkie after his FS1-televised win at Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. “Now, everybody wants those big ‘money fights,’ and it just doesn’t make any sense to have any rankings if we’re going to keep doing that kind of stuff.”

Gastelum’s comments echoed UFC commentator Joe Rogan, who recently critized the promotion’s choice to give returning former welterweight champ George St-Pierre an immediate title shot against current middleweight king Michael Bisping later this year.

“As a person who deeply respects the position of champion – if you’re gonna do this whole interim title thing and you’re gonna have guys come back after being out of the sport for three years and get a shot right at the title, why have (expletive) championships at all?” Rogan said earlier this week to ESPN.com.

Three days prior to fighting Belfort, Gastelum said he didn’t like St-Pierre getting a shot at the title, but didn’t elaborate on the issue. He also indicated he wanted another chance in the welterweight division, which he was forced to vacate after thrice falling short on the scales.

But after his win, he said he’d spoken to his management and they’d decided on calling out Silva. It was a better career choice.

In a different time, Silva would have fit the bill for “money fight.” A top pay-per-view draw for the UFC, he made millions during his long reign as middleweight champ. But now, his drawing power is nowhere near what it was.

While Gastelum would profit handsomely from a pay-per-view meeting at UFC 212, the event he targeted, he said the matchup is more about building momentum in his new division.

“He’s a big name,” Gastelum said of “The Spider.” “He’s another legend, and he’s ranked above me. I want the fight that will eventually lead me to a title shot.”

The criteria for earning that opportunity may have changed, but Gastelum still believes he can make the argument that will bring him what he wants.

“I’ve just got to keep winning fights (and) keep making noise,” he said. “I’m not a very loud person; I’m not a very obnoxious person, but the way I want to keep making noise is beating big names.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 106, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Fernanda Prates contributed to this report on site in Fortaleza.)