Kelvin Gastelum Explains Why He Was Hesitant To Accept Darren Till Fight
Kelvin Gastelum has his next fight booked as he is set to take on Darren Till at UFC 244 in Madison Square Garden.
It will be the Englishman’s middleweight debut inside the Octagon and comes against the guy who just fought for the interim middleweight title. And, who was scheduled to fight for the middleweight title earlier this year. When Gastelum got the call to fight Darren Till at UFC 244 he was surprised by it.
“At first thought, I was like, ‘I don’t know if it’s worth it for me to accept this kind of fight because he is coming off a two-fight losing streak,’” Gastelum told MMA Junkie. “I feel like I’m still in title contention, and I feel like I should get one of those top guys. But I want to fight in Madison Square Garden.”
Why he ended up accepting the fight is simple, he wanted to fight at MSG. Yet, he was unsure of the fight as he says a win over Till doesn’t put him into the title shot talks which fighting a top-middleweight would do.
However, Gastelum says this is a chance for him to prove to everyone he is a top middleweight.
“I put a lot of thought on who my opponent is and why I’m fighting him, and will it get me to the title shot. Will it get me closer to where I want to go,” Gastelum said. “I definitely asked those questions. And, none of them applied to Darren Till. I don’t think if I win – it’s not going to get me a title shot. It’s not getting me closer.
“But I just think I need to go out there and make a statement against a guy like Darren Till because of my last performance. I want to go out there, I want to show that I’m still hungry, I’m still in contention, and I’m still one of the best guys around at this weight class.”
Who do you think will win the fight between Kelvin Gastelum and Darren Till?
