The UFC 205 main card has taken a hit.
Kelvin Gastelum is out of his pay-per-view fight against longtime contender Donald Cerrone after being unable to hit the 171-pound welterweight limit.
Gastelum did not even make it to the scales before his fight against Cerrone was scrapped. During the early weigh-ins Friday morning, Cerrone informed the media that he had been told that his opponent was dramatically overweight. Moments later, Gastelum issued a trio of tweets, stating that he would not be competing on Saturday night.
I will not be fighting @Cowboycerrone 2morrow on account that I couldn’t make the wght limit. I apologize 2 cowboy ure a legend. God bless.
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) November 11, 2016
I’m sorry to My team, my friends and the ppl that genuinely care for me. Extremely dissapointed I will have to reevaluate things in my life.
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) November 11, 2016
Cerrone will receive his show money, per officials, but won’t be competing on the card versus a short notice replacement. He will be booked for another card in the naer future. Ronaldo Souza and Tim Kennedy, who both weighed in as alternates, won’t be fighting on Saturday night, either.
Gastelum is infamously known for missing weight often. He made his UFC debut coming off The Ultimate Fighter as a middleweight, but dropped down to the 170-pound division afterwards. Since then, he’s missed weight three times in seven bouts (including Friday’s debacle with Cerrone).
After a detrimental weight miss (and subsequent hospitalization) ahead of his UFC 183 fight opposite Tyron Woodley, Gastelum was forced back up to 185-pounds. After a win over Nate Marquardt, he was allowed to drop back down, and hadn’t missed in his two fights prior to this one.
Cerrone moved up to the welterweight division after an unsuccessful title shot against Rafael dos Anjos at lightweight last year. He’s 3-0 in the division, with finishes over Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote, and Rick Story.
UFC 205 takes place live from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday, Nov. 12. In the main event, lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez faces featherweight champ Conor McGregor.
