Three days after calling for a fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 212 in Brazil, middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum was granted his wish by UFC.
Gastelum (14-2) knocked out Vitor Belfort on Saturday at UFC Fight Night in Fortaleza, Brazil, and claimed afterwards that his “legends ass whipping tour” would continue against Silva. He will indeed meet the former middleweight champion on June 3, according to UFC, which confirmed an initial report Tuesday from Brazilian outlet Combate.
UFC 212, headlined by featherweight champion Jose Aldo and Max Holloway, will take place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Silva (34-8-1, 20 KOs), 41, is unbeaten in two UFC appearances in his home country, posting TKO victories over Yushin Okami in 2011 and Stephan Bonnar in 2012.
Gastelum, 25, won “The Ultimater Figher 17” middleweight tournament in 2013 and is currently riding a three-fight win streak. He hasn’t lost inside the octagon at 185 pounds. Both of his losses came by split decision in 2015 against current welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Neil Magny.
Silva, who made a UFC record 10 title defenses between 2007-12, accepted the fight with Gastelum one day after posting on social media his desire for rematches against Michael Bisping and Nick Diaz. “The Spider” snapped a five-year winless streak in February when he outpointed Derek Brunson in a controversial decision at UFC 208.
