UFC-Shanghai headliner Kelvin Gastelum talks 'badass' Bisping – and why he wants a Woodley rematch

SHANGHAI – A couple weeks back, Kelvin Gastelum was sick to his stomach over the thought of what might happen to his third straight UFC main event with his opponent out.

Gastelum (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) didn’t just have any opponent for UFC Fight Night 122. He had former longtime middleweight champ and onetime pound-for-pound legend Anderson Silva, regarded by many to be the greatest in history. But when Silva got flagged for a potential doping violation, Gastelum wondered if his fight would be off.

And if he’s just being honest, he even wondered if the entire card would survive for the promotion’s debut in mainstream China without a name the caliber of Silva’s.

But then Michael Bisping (30-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) came to the rescue. Just a week after losing his middleweight title to Georges St-Pierre in the UFC 217 main event, Bisping wanted to get the bad taste out of his mouth and take advantage of the chance for another payday while he was still (mostly) in fight shape.

Now Gastelum vs. Bisping headlines UFC Fight Night 122 in a middleweight bout Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. The entire card streams on UFC Fight Pass.

“I didn’t want to go from fighting the greatest of all time to just fighting Joe Schmoe – that just wouldn’t make sense for me, for my career,” Gastelum told MMAjunkie today in Shanghai. “I want to keep making steps forward, not making steps backward. … I was really happy we got a replacement. I was really happy that Mike stepped up – how badass is he? I feel this is actually an even bigger fight for my career.”

The fight is bigger, Gastelum thinks, because Bisping just was the champion a few weeks ago, unlike Silva, whose best days appear to be several years in the rearview mirror.

The fight against Silva was to be just the latest in a string of standouts Gastelum has stepped into the ocatagon with. And now Bisping is his latest ex-champion opponent.

Consider Gastelum’s previous seven fights: a split-decision loss to current welterweight champ Tyron Woodley at UFC 183; a TKO of former Strikeforce middleweight champ Nate Marquardt at UFC 188; a decision win over former welterweight champ Johny Hendricks at 170 pounds at UFC 200; a TKO of former light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort in March (later flipped to a no-contest when Gastelum tested positive for marijuana); and in July, a submission loss to former middleweight champ Chris Weidman in the UFC on FOX 25 main event.

So while all the talk has been on just how legendary a move Bisping made by taking the short-notice fight with Gastelum, who is a 3-1 favorite, Gastelum thinks maybe he ought to get a little love, too.

“It doesn’t matter to me, but it would be cool if I got a little bit of credit, too, for stepping up and accepting the fight,” he said. “This will be my third or fourth former champion that I’ve fought in the last 12 months. I don’t think people have been giving me credit for the fights I’ve been taking in the last 12 months. This will be my third main event in a row. (But) I’m just riding the wave.”

Prior to the loss to Weidman, Gastelum had been on a serious roll with the wins over Hendricks, Kennedy and Belfort. The submission loss to Weidman was the first time he had been stopped, and it obviously left a bad taste in his mouth.

That gave him the motivation to get back in the win column against another former champion, first Silva and now Bisping. But if Gastelum is just being honest, there’s another loss that hurts him even more.

More than anything, he seems to want another shot at Woodley. When they fought at UFC 183, it was at welterweight, the division in which Gastelum infamously had trouble hitting the limit. That forced the move up to middleweight, where he’s now been for three fights.

Against Woodley, he came in at 180 pounds – nine pounds over the non-title 171-pound limit.

“I’m a little bit salty on the Tyron Woodley fight,” Gastelum said. “I’m a little hurt, still, after all these years. I want that rematch. I know I can beat him. And I know I can make the weight. I was immature, I was young, and stupid, and I feel I’ve grown from all those experiences. There’s been a lot of trial and error in my career. When I fought him, I was 23 years old. Finally, we’re putting all the experiences togehter, the good, the bad, and making something that actually works.”

That’s why Gastelum hopes – even if he has to admit it might be a long shot – he might be able to get a title shot at welterweight against Woodley. Fighting him at a catchweight or with Woodley moving up to middleweight without the title on the line wouldn’t be worth it.

“I’ve got to be up there in those discussions (with a win), whether I fight for the middleweight title or the welterweight title,” Gastelum said. “I’ve always had my eyes set on that welterweight title and a rematch with Tyron. (But) if I win this fight, I might have permanently cemented myself as a middleweight whether I want it or not.

“… It has to be for the title, and now that he’s the champion, I want to take it from him. But let me just say I respect Tyron. As a person, as a fighter, I respect him. It’s just (the loss) doesn’t sit (with me) well.”

For more from Gastelum, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 122, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.