In order to make weight for UFC 244, Kelvin Gastelum used his elbow to lean on his coach.
At UFC 244 weigh ins, we saw something strange from the elbow of Kelvin Gastelum.
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As he took the scale, Gastelum held his elbows out, in order to lean on his coach and drop his weight.
For the record, his weight was stated at 184 pounds. But many people thought there were shenanigans right away. (It’s hard not to after watching the video).
Afterward the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) released a statement, determining that Gastelum leaned on his coach during the weigh in.
NYSAC has released a statement regarding Kelvin Gastelum’s weigh-in this morning. The UFC 244 co-main is on and the weight will stand. But the commission is reviewing the matter and could take disciplinary action. Gastelum allegedly leaned on coach Rafael Cordeiro on the scale. pic.twitter.com/eFz5ehxFrY
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) November 1, 2019
One question: if the Gastelum elbow-lean “cannot be said to have materially impacted Mr. Gastelum’s weight”, why would he do such a thing?
No word yet on the disciplinary action that will be taken.
Many fight fans may recall Daniel Cormier (who went from white belt to brown belt) having a similar incident with a towel for UFC 210. DC was a pound over the 205 weight limit, and returned a minute later to make weight, leaning on two towels held by his team (video of the entire incident below).
In fact this incident led to the NYSAC to enact a new written policy: a fighter “shall not make physical contact with any person or object other than the scale.” So it’s interesting to see this type of issue happen again in New York.
Gastelum responded with a tweet, calling the incident “FakeNews” (perhaps appropriate considering Donald Trump will be attending).
#FakeNews Don’t believe everything you read. Lets do this tomorrow! Thank you all for your support! #UFC244
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) November 1, 2019
It’s not the first time Gastelum has had issues making weight. Back in 2015, Gastelum missed weight in his bout against Tyron Woodley – by 9 pounds. He lost the fight via split decision. But afterward, he was forced to move up to middleweight.
Kelvin Gastelum (and his elbow) will be fighting against Darren Till at UFC 244 tonight, taking place at Madison Square Garden. Grappling Insider will be following the action.
