Kelvin Gastelum may have left Melbourne without the middleweight belt after his title bout with Robert Whittaker was cancelled last weekend, but he didn’t leave completely empty-handed.
Gastelum was set to challenge Whittaker in the main event of UFC 234 on Saturday, but Whittaker was unable to fight due to a hernia injury and their title bout was scrapped the day before the event. Gastelum made the trip down under and fulfilled all of his media duties and it seems that the UFC has compensated the title challenger for those efforts, according to his manager Ali Abdelaziz.
Abdelaziz spoke with ESPN about the compensation and said the UFC assured him that his fighter would be looked after.
“I just talked to Dana White and they are taking care of Kelvin, financially,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “He’s very happy.”
According to Abdelaziz, the amount Gastelum will receive is in the “six figures” but didn’t confirm the exact amount. Gastelum is now hoping to rebook the title fight with Whittaker sometime in the middle of the year, pending Whittaker’s recovery from last weekend’s surgery.
“I heard Whittaker can start training in five weeks, and we are looking to get this fight rebooked between June or July.” Abdelaziz said.