Manager: Kelvin Gastelum paid ‘six figures’ after cancelled UFC 234 main event

Bloodyelbow.com

Just hours before UFC 234, Robert Whittaker had emergency surgery, leaving Kelvin Gastelum without an opponent and cancelling the main event altogether.

In years past, fighters who made weight and showed up still get their whole fight purse when opponents pull out, but that policy has been quite different during the Endeavor era. On this case however, Gastelum’s manager says he was taken care of, and received “six figures” for his efforts.

“I just talked to Dana White and they are taking care of Kelvin, financially,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “He’s very happy.”

A day before this, Gastelum said he was “sure” he wasn’t getting his entire purse.

“We didn’t talk numbers, but I’m sure I’m not getting the full pay as if I fought,” he told ESPN. (HT: MMA Mania) “Pretty sure I’m not getting the full pay, but I’m getting something. We didn’t talk numbers, but I’m getting something. And hopefully it’s enough to cover my expenses.

“Hell yeah, definitely (I should get full pay.) I made the trip 8000 miles to Australia. Was there two weeks. Did all the right things, showed up for work, showed up on weight ready to go to work.”

Gastelum hasn’t competed in a state (or country) that requires the UFC to disclose their salary in almost three years, but fighters getting title shots usually get a big pay bump from their normal contracts. The last middleweight title bout with disclosed pay was for Robert Whittaker’s first bout against Yoel Romero, where both fighters received a base pay of $350,000. Even way before that, Rockhold and Bisping both received $250,000 for their title bout in 2016.

If Gastelum’s pay was at the lower end of “six figures,” it likely isn’t going to match his full contracted pay for UFC 234, but it’s still going to be much higher than what most fighters get after cancelled non-title bouts.

His camp targets to get the title bout “rebooked between June or July.”