Monday Morning Hangover: Kelvin Gastelum loses his fight -- and his weight class -- all in one night

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC 183 blew the roof off the MGM Grand Garden Arena this past weekend (Sat., Jan. 31, 2015) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Sara McMann, who suffered her second professional mixed martial arts (MMA) loss at the hands of Miesha Tate (watch it). And Nick Diaz, who was picked apart for five rounds by former middleweight champion, Anderson Silva (highlights).

But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?

Kelvin Gastelum.

The former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) winner looked to stay unbeaten, earn his eleventh straight win, and perhaps cut the front of the line to a division title shot. Standing in his way was perhaps his toughest and most experienced opponent to date in Tyron Woodley.

After three rounds of action, Gastelum found himself on the wrong side of a split-decision (recap). The usually-aggressive contender was a bit off, never quite finding his range and couldn't pop off any offense against his stocky foe.

But the tough loss only added to his already existing troubles.

Prior to the bout, Gastelum came in heavy at the weigh-ins by an astounding nine pounds (see it again here). After trying to shed the extra pounds prior to tipping the scales, Kelvin was forced to take a trip to the hospital to hydrate.

Where you at, Mike Dolce?

As a result of his scale fail, Kelvin was forced to cough up 30-percent of his purse to "The Chosen One." And to make it worse, Dana White will now likely force the 170-pound standout to move up to middleweight; seeing as how this wasn't his first offense.

So, to sum things up, the man who was possibly one win away from a title shot suffered his first pro loss, a hefty chunk of change, and his weight class. Now, he'll have to start from scratch. This time, though, he'll be facing some much heavier foes at 185 pounds, so his road back to the top could be a bit bumpier.

But Gastelum isn't a stranger to the weight class. After all, he did run the middleweight gauntlet during his initial stint on TUF, including beating heavy-favorite Uriah Hall in the live finale.

So, despite all the darkness Kelvin faced this week, there is still light ahead.

If he is indeed forced to move up a weight class, he will no longer have to worry about putting his body through such a brutal weight cut. Plus, he won't have to cough up some cash for coming in heavy or pay someone to prevent that from happening.

He'll also have a clean slate to work with, and the first person to try and mark it up should be someone like Tim Boetsch, who also came up short in "Sin City."

A win over an established veteran like "The Barbarian" will give him back the confidence to begin another impressive streak on his way to the top. And who knows, perhaps a change of scenery could turn out to be the best thing for him.

It certainly worked out great for "Rumble."