Kelvin Gastelum showed the world why he was the biggest favourite on the UFC Fortaleza card on Sunday morning.
The former UFC welterweight maintained his pristine record at 185 lbs with a sensational knockout of former UFC light-heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort.
Despite coming up on his 40th birthday, Belfort had some success on the feet in the early exchanges. Rising star Gastelum's tentative and measured approach proved that the Brazilian is still one of the most feared knockout artists in the game.
However, while Belfort's aim was to take his opponent's head clean off, Gastelum only had eyes for the victory. Gastelum got his hand raised with a performance that resembled that of a world champion. He dropped Belfort twice, with the referee stepping in the second time to award him the TKO victory just 3:52 into the fight.
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The knockout loss marked Belfort's third on the bounce following the finishes at the hands of Gegard Mousasi and Jacare. After notching up over two decades worth of mileage on the odometer, Belfort confirmed after the event that his next fight is his last on his current contract, and will likely be the last time we ever see him inside the Octagon.
“Yes, unless they create this legends’ division, then we can continue a little longer. But training for five-round fights is too much for the body. I was in great shape, but he connected some good strikes and it was his night.”
“It's time to end this chapter as a professional fighter. My body is not the same anymore for training. It’s too much pain. I did more than 14 surgeries. I left everything in the Octagon. I’m sad because I didn’t give the win to my fellow Brazilians, but it happens.”
Belfort will allow the dust to settle before deciding on who he will face for his retirement fight. Although he has no specific fighters in mind, his only preference is that he doesn't want to end his career against a compatriot.
"I don’t have any names off the top of my head. I just don’t want to fight a Brazilian in Brazil. We have to sit down with the UFC and see which opponent would be an interesting fight. I never turned down fights, always fought the toughest ones in the division, but the last fight has to be special for the fans. Let’s see if that’s possible."
