It has been confirmed this evening that Kelvin Gastelum will face Anderson Silva at UFC 212 following a call-out from the American.
This news comes just days after Gastelum’s first round knock-out of mixed martial arts legend Vitor Belfort in Brazil. Now the former TUF winner will face another legend in Silva after coming away unscathed from his bout with “The Phenom”.
In the immediate aftermath of last weekend’s fight, Gastelum spoke of a possible showdown with “The Spider”. “He’s a big name, he’s another legend and he is ranked above me” the Arizonan explained.
In the lead-up to today’s announcement the P4P great Silva who is currently ranked at #7 by the UFC was rumored to be a possible opponent for number one contender Yoel Romero but with this news, it appears that this bout is unlikely to happen.
This fight represents a huge opportunity for Gastelum. After recently breaking into the top ten, the American stock continues to rise with the 25-year old now being tipped by some as a future star of the 185lbs division.
Updated UFC 212 card
Jose Aldo (c) vs. Max Holloway (IC) – featherweight title unification bout
Claudia Gadelha vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Eric Spicely
Johnny Eduardo vs. Matthew Lopez
Marco Beltran vs. Deiveson Alcantara
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Anderson Silva
