After missing weight for UFC 205, former welterweight contender Kelvin Gastelum made his return to middleweight last night (Sat., Dec. 10, 2016) at UFC 206 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, when he welcomed former Strikeforce title contender Tim Kennedy back to the Octagon. Kennedy came into the bout with a huge size advantage, but what would he look like after a 27-month layoff?
It was all Kennedy in the early going after the Army veteran swarmed Gastelum, dragged him to the canvas and scored points with a hulking top game. But after Gastelum got back to his feet, he peppered Kennedy with countless combinations and moving power shots, which caused immediate swelling under Kennedy's right eye. Gastelum controlled the action even longer by battering a tired Kennedy with crisp jabs and timely transitions on the ground. He completely took over the fight in Round 3 by pressing forward, slamming fists into Kennedy at will and ending the middleweight veteran via TKO with minutes to spare.
The full video highlights can be seen above courtesy of UFC.
With this win, Gastelum proves that he's even more dangerous as a middleweight than he is a welterweight. People have been impressed by his power at 170 pounds, but it may be Gastelum's speed, fluidity and constant cardio at 185 pounds that pushes him closer to UFC title contention. Kennedy probably experienced some sort of energy dump in his return to the Octagon, but Gastelum looked fantastic.
For complete UFC 206 results and coverage click here.