Rising welterweight contender Shavkat
Rakhmonov will welcome Kelvin
Gastelum back to 170 pounds in the co-main event of a UFC Fight
Night card on Sept. 16.
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UFC president Dana White announced the booking on Wednesday
evening. The UFC Fight Night event is being held in honor of
Mexican Independence Day and is headlined by a flyweight
championship rematch between Alexa
Grasso and Valentina
Shevchenko. The card takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
and will air on ESPN+.
Undefeated in 17 professional appearances, Rakhmonov is a rising
star in the UFC’s welterweight division. The 28-year-old Kazakhstan
native is coming off a third-round submission of Geoff Neal in
his last outing at UFC 285 this past March. The former M-1 Global
title holder also owns wins over Neil Magny,
Carlston
Harris, Michel
Prazeres and Alex
Oliveira in the Octagon.
Gastelum has endured his share of struggles in recent years, going
2-5 in UFC competition since 2019. Most recently, “The Ultimate
Fighter 17” winner outpointed Chris
Curtis in a 185-pound clash at UFC 287 on April 8. Gastelum
hasn’t attempted to compete at welterweight since 2016, when he
defeated ex-champ Johny
Hendricks at UFC 200. While he made weight for that bout, he
has previously struggled on the scales when attempting to make 170
pounds.