Kelvin Gastelum has reflected on his iconic fight against Israel Adesanya ahead of his upcoming UFC Hall of Fame induction.
At UFC 316, Kelvin Gastelum will make his return to the cage when he battles rising prospect Joe Pyfer. In the eyes of many, this is a great opportunity for Pyfer to reach the next level in his pursuit of UFC gold – whereas the popular belief is that Kelvin is now playing the role of ‘gatekeeper’ for many of these young prospects.
RELATED: Israel Adesanya vs Kelvin Gastelum fight inducted into UFC Hall of Fame
Regardless of whether you believe that or you don’t, there’s no denying that Gastelum has had some ups and downs throughout the course of his career. One of his greatest moments, though, actually came in defeat back at UFC 236. With the interim UFC middleweight championship on the line, he threw down with Israel Adesanya in a five-round war, that is still considered to this day to be one of the greatest fights in UFC history.
After it was announced earlier this year that it’d be heading into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer, Gastelum took some time to look back on that night in a recent social media post.
This fight happened 6 years ago, & I STILL get so many call backs and compliments and comments about this fight.
I find it funny cause this feels like something that happens to old ppl. 😅
13 years in this game and ppl think I’m done.
Far from it. #OnAmission4Gold pic.twitter.com/M4kDk1OZ2a— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) May 19, 2025
