Kelvin Gastelum will not be fighting Shavkat Rakhmonov this September.
Gastelum vs. Rakhmonov was booked for a special Mexican Independence Day edition of a UFC Fight Night card on September 16. That plan has now blown up in smoke. Gastelum has taken to social media to reveal the fight is off, and he even included footage that unveils the reason.
Breaking news 🚨
Unfortunately I received an injury and my fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov off/delayed
Full video on my YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/NXxvHjU54U— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) August 1, 2023
Kelvin Gastelum Injured, Rakhmonov Fight Is Off
A video posted on Gastelum’s YouTube channel shows that a sparring partner got overzealous and caught him on the nose with an elbow. The clip then showed Kevin Gastelum bleeding on the nose with blood trickling down. He had the following to say about the fight cancellation:
“Unfortunate news, my fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov is off,” Gastelum said. “I received an elbow that resulted in an open fracture and a few bones that came out fractured. I have to apologize to everybody who was excited for this fight. I apologize to everybody, I apologize to Shavkat Rakhmonov and his team. I feel bad, I feel very horrible about this unfortunate incident.”
Rakhmonov caught wind of the video and took aim at Gastelum’s appearance.
You forgot to mention that you are struggling with the diet too 🌯 https://t.co/ysvXo74sp3
— Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov (@Rakhmonov1994) August 1, 2023
“You forgot to mention that you are struggling with the diet too,” Rakhmonov wrote.
Gastelum was hoping to capitalize off his April win over Chris Curtis. It has been tough sledding for the 10-year UFC veteran ever since his memorable five-round war with Israel Adesanya back in 2019. Ever since that defeat, Gastelum has gone 2-4. A win over Rakhmonov would be huge for a rebound attempt from Gastelum, but time will tell if he’ll get that opportunity after this bout cancellation.
We’ll keep you posted on what’s next for Shavkat Rakhmonov once those details emerge.
