Kelvin Gastelum Reveals Who He Wants To Win In Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya Fight

Former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum revealed who he wants to win in the upcoming UFC 243 headliner between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.

Whittaker and Adesanya collide in a middleweight title unification fight on October 5. Gastelum has history with both fighters — he was originally supposed to face Whittaker for the title in February until injury pulled the latter out. He then faced Adesanya for the interim title in a losing effort resulting in the UFC 243 matchup.

Last month, he predicted Adesanya would come out on top, but in a recent interview, now believes Whittaker will win.

However, he still wants Adesanya to win so he can avenge that loss:

“It’ll be an interesting fight because Israel brings a whole different skill set,” Gastelum told the South China Morning Post. “A whole variety of skills. But I think Rob has the right tools to beat him. I think he will win but selfishly I want Israel to win so I can take the title from him.”

Gastelum and Adesanya took part in a five-round war at UFC 236 that went back-and-forth until the final bell. However, it was “The Last Stylebender” who came out on top, notably dropping Gastelum multiple times throughout the contest.

The manner of the defeat makes Gastelum want to correct things even more:

“I just want that rematch,” he added. “You lose and go over every single detail and you want to get back in there and make things right.”

Do you agree with Gastelum’s prediction? And do you think he’ll eventually face the winner soon?