Shavkat’s fight with Gastelum makes no sense?

[flektarn]

Wish Shavkat would get someone ranked high up at WW and that can actually make weight. And someone that isn't 2 in their last 7.

 

[Kaiokenrye24]

Too many rank squatters at WW

Shavkat is choosing to stay busy

I like that term rank squatters

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Everybody else is booked or not interested. Usman, and Borz (if he can make weight) won’t take that fight. Burns is injured.

Belal says he’s sitting out for the TS he earned. Edwards is fighting Colby apparently. Everybody else is behind Shavkat. He has to fight somebody. Gastelum accepted the fight. There are risks though. Any loss now is catastrophic for Shavkat. And if he beats Gastelum, everybody in front of him still won’t want that fight.

He’ll need some intervention by the UFC to get a number 1 fight, or a TS. The UFC has created these problems and they need to start fixing them. The rankings are bullshit, but that’s how the UFC works. The rankings reward inactivity. The rank squatting needs to stop. And only the UFC can fix it.

 

[RoyJonesJr]

Kevin is young but his prime was ages ago


He hasn't evolved at all & struggles with work ethic

 

[Kyd Blake]

Gastelum is not that good, but he's hard to finish (at least with strikes) and has knockout power with solid boxing possibly just as good as Geoff Neal's and is overall a dangerous fight. Rankings wise it makes no sense, but the style clash makes for an interesting bout. Shavkat could easily get rocked and finished. I doubt that happens and wouldn't bet on it, but it makes things interesting.

Also helps Gastelum has an exciting reputation and is a semi draw. Him at WW is also a different ballgame for multiple reasons (if he can make weight).

 

[FloydMayweatherMMA]

Makes sense 2bh. The risk/reward is in Shavkat's favour; Kelvin is comparatively well known and a much easier fight in theory than Burns, Belal or Usman. He could well get a title shot off the back of it with a finish and he wouldn't have to fight one of the top five to do it, so it's worth fighting down.

Kelvin could kick start his career with a win, so it's easy to see why he'd take it.

 

[JarlSkuld]

What's not to get? Gastelum is a name and a former title challenger. It's a very winnable fight and a boost to his resume.

Jarl

 

[Siver!]

Shavkat is undefeated in the ufc and 17-0 overall. It makes no sense fighting a guy who loses a lot with no history of making weight at 170. It seems like a weird step back considering Shavkat has finished better guys already

You know, I thought I'd double check this "he's beaten better guys than Kelvin" assertion, and it actually led me to conclude this: Gastelum should have dropped to 170 and rematched Magny.

The last fight was a split, and the numbers on that fight are kind of insane.

But beyond that, is Geoff Neal really better than Gastelum? Again, I wouldn't mind that fight.

All of that leads me to conclude that this is a 'treading water' fight rather than a backwards step, and that, frankly, is equally frustrating.

 

[Paul E Gensinger]

Gastelum has the ability to make any fight competitive. I actually think this is a nice little test for Shavcat

He used to.
At MW.
This fight is trash. Will be a quick finish for the sexy Shavkhat.

 

[r-harper-1]

Ratings wise it doesn’t make any sense …..both want it and style wise it could be fun ……but I honestly think Gastalum will look awful attempting to make 170 …..even though he’s not that big of a guy , it’s been a while

 

[Duke Kensington]

Any loss now is catastrophic for Shavkat. And if he beats Gastelum, everybody in front of him still won’t want that fight.

He’ll need some intervention by the UFC to get a number 1 fight, or a TS. The UFC has created these problems and they need to start fixing them. The rankings are bullshit, but that’s how the UFC works. The rankings reward inactivity. The rank squatting needs to stop. And only the UFC can fix it.

It’s not just the rankings it’s people saying that a loss would be “catastrophic” the sport is turning into boxing. There’s nothing wrong with losing a fight at this level. Kelvin gave izzy one of his hardest fights.

 

[DkMacaw]

If Shavkat wins it will finally give him the star power he needs, kind of what like what Khamzat was going to get from fighting Nate Diaz.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

Gastelum is tough and if Shavkat somehow finishes him it will be eye opening for the rest of the division

 

[FriskyRandy]

I think this is spot -on. Gastelum is not an easy fight and will be a true test. I think this is a 50 - 50 fight.

A 50 50 fight... Come on now. Kelvin will be what, +300?

 

[Trabaho]

Are you aware ww was Kelvin's first weight class ? In regards to never making ww. I don't think he missed weight each time there

 

[this is my new account]

This is just to build some hype. Guys are scared to fight shavkat. He is still a few fights away from his title shot, give him styles that could cause him problems. Gastelum is certainly a problem on a good day.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

The real question is how Gastelum is going to cut to 170 with his giant balls maintaining their size.

Balls don't shink in the sauna. He's going to have to find out how to cut weight in a freezer.

 

[Fight Professor]

I respect Shavkat for choosing an interesting fight that might not do much for his rankings. Too many fighters skip lines and then fight at the top once a year.

 

[HatKick]

As a Shavkat fan I don't like it even though it will be a banger. It's a risky fight with little reward. You never know with these guys who move down. Gastelum hasn't looked great recently but he's used to fighting big dudes like Weidman, Jacare, Adesanya etc. I've always said if he could make WW he'd be a problem. If he can retain most of his strength and power he could upset a lot of guys.

 

[scytheavatar]

As a Shavkat fan I don't like it even though it will be a banger. It's a risky fight with little reward. You never know with these guys who move down. Gastelum hasn't looked great recently but he's used to fighting big dudes like Weidman, Jacare, Adesanya etc. I've always said if he could make WW he'd be a problem. If he can retain most of his strength and power he could upset a lot of guys.

Gastelum's problem isn't that he was fighting big guys............ Gastelum's problem is that he has not improved at all from what he was 8 years ago and almost everyone has figured him out by now. He is a one dimensional fighter who is good at getting into the pocket and countering you, but that is all he can do. Moving down the weight class only makes his job tougher cause his speed advantage now disappears. Gastelum is no faster than Neal, and Neal has a far more developed striking game than him.