Kelvin Gastelum wants Tyron Woodley rematch: In a lot of people’s eyes, I won that first fight

Since he won the Ultimate Fighter 17 tournament in 2013, Kelvin Gastelum has been jumping around welterweight and middleweight. During his early run at 170 pounds, he got to face current champion, Tyron Woodley.

The said fight took place at UFC 183 in January 2015 but was set at a 180-pound catch-weight after Gastelum missed weight. Woodley ended up winning via a close split decision verdict, but Gastelum believes he should have been awarded the victory.

“Eventually, I’m going to be fighting for that title at middleweight, which is crazy,” Gastelum said in a recent media scrum in Los Angeles (transcript via MMAjunkie). “But yeah, in my eyes, in the back of my head – way in the back of my head – I still have welterweight in mind.”

“That fight is like a splinter in my heart,” he added. “I kind of want to get that fight back – make the weight, make it right. In a lot of people’s eyes, including myself, I won that fight.”

For now, Gastelum is slated to face Ronaldo Souza at UFC 224 this May, a fight which he says he is already primed for as early as now.

“You can only prepare and strategize the best you can, and I feel like I’ve done that,” Gastelum said. “I feel like I’m prepared to the best of my abilities for what he brings to the table.”

UFC 224 happens on May 12^th in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the main event, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes puts her title on the line against Raquel Pennington.