Kelvin Gastelum’s status is still up in the air. The UFC fighter was suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission after UFC 205, due to him not weighing in for his scheduled bout. He was well over the welterweight limit, which ended up cancelling his fight with Donald Cerrone. Because he didn’t actually step on the scale, NYSAC suspended him for six months.
Gastelum has appealed the decision, and he told MMA Junkie that he is confident it will be dealt with this week:
“What we’re trying to do is get the suspension lifted, and that’s what my team is working for right now. News should be coming soon this week.”
But MMA Junkie also contacted NYSAC, who informed them that Gastelum has appealed but still doesn’t have a date to actually speak to them as of yet. It’s unclear if he will get a date before December 10th.
Why is all of this important? Well, the UFC has provisionally inserted Gastelum into a middleweight bout with Tim Kennedy on December 10th in Toronto. According to the Ontario commission though, they will honor the NYSAC suspension if it isn’t lifted, not allowing Gastelum to fight:
“The OAC honors all suspensions by members of the Association of Boxing Commissions.”
Overall, Gastelum is going to need to sort this out pretty quickly if he wants to fight. If he can’t, Kennedy is probably going to be pretty mad.
