Could we see Kelvin Gastelum fight inside the octagon this summer?
The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner revealed in an interview with MMA Fighting that his recovery from an LCL injury is close to being fully healed, citing that fans can expect to see him fight again this summer:
“I’ve been recovering from a torn LCL back in January – I had a full tear,” Gastelum said. “No surgery needed, thankfully. Just been doing therapy on it and reconstructive therapy on it. It’s about 85 or 90 percent there. I’m just starting to grapple a bit, starting to box again. I’m starting to kick again. Training is picking back up a little bit. Just at the right time. Hopefully by July — I don’t know where this whole pandemic thing will be by then — but I’m hoping to fight by July.”
While Gastelum doesn’t have an opponent set for his return, the 28-year-old previously stated that he’s hoping to fight the top contenders within the division, namely Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier, or Jack Hermansson.
The former UFC Middleweight Champion will be busy training for his fight against Darren Till at UFC Fight Night Dublin on August 15; however, Cannonier and Hermansson don’t have any opponents set yet. We’ll keep you updated if Gastelum’s return fight is made official.