UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum (4/17/2021) Main Event Reaction & Analysis

 

Taopology Event Page: https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/76103-ufc-fight-night

A long overdue matchup finally played out last night; Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum, which had been scheduled for UFC 234 on February 10th of 2019, was canceled the morning of due to a medical emergency from then Middleweight Champion. Whittaker and Gastelum would go their separate ways, with Whittaker and Gastelum both eventually losing to current champion, Israel Adesanya. Whittaker took an extended break, coming back in the second half of 2020 to score victories of Darren Till and Jared Cannonier. In my opinion, there was little doubt, even before this fight, that Whittaker deserved another championship opportunity. Gastelum, on the other hand, had just gotten back into the win column with a win over Ian Heinisch. Gastelum lost a split decision to Till and lost via submission to Jack Hermansson previous to the Heinisch fight, so it was undoubtably a big one for his standing in the Middleweight division.

It felt only right to get this matchup back; Paulo Costa was the scheduled opponent for Whittaker for this Fight Night, but had to pull out due to an undisclosed illness. Gastelum was more than ready to step in, fulfilling the matchup we missed out on two years ago, and get his name back into the discussion of a championship fight. There is no doubt that Whittaker had much to lose from this fight, while Gastelum had everything to gain. Marvin Vettori had won just last week against Kevin Holland (a late replacement for the injured Till), and had received buzz as the next man up to challenge Adesanya for his title. Whittaker, at least in my opinion should not need to prove anything to get another championship fight; I am of the opinion that Whittaker's resume, Till and Cannonier, tops Vettori's wins over Holland and Hermansson.

The card leading up to the main event was a bit of a bore, with a lot of split decisions. On the prelims, we had an unintentional groin shot, with Romanov unable to continue. Somehow, he won via a split technical decision against his opponent Juan Espino. Andre Arlovski assumed his position as gatekeeper and soundly defeated Chase Sherman. There was only two finishes the entire night; one was a rear-naked choke, and the other a TKO after ground strikes. In other words, this main event needed to pay off for the fans who stuck through the five hour card.

Analysis

The first round of the fight was all Whittaker; I can emphasis enough just how crisp and fluid Rob looked to start the fight; he cracked Gastelum with a huge head kick that had Kelvin a bit out of it for the majority of the first round. Rob also connected with a few left hooks that were flush to the side of the head of Gastelum, and that hook was there all night. Whittaker had not only a clear striking advantage in the first round, but he also scored a takedown when Kelvin advanced and missed on an overhand right. The first round clearly went to Whittaker, but give it to Kelvin as well; he came out pressuring Whittaker, staying on the offensive even when he was rocked.

Kelvin had a better second round, coming out much more aggressive, but Rob exhibited his takedown defense early and did a good job distancing himself from Kelvin's shots. Whittaker scored a second takedown, but Kelvin showed his wrestling skill to get himself back to his feet. Whittaker continued to pick apart Gastelum on the feet led by his jab; at one point Whittaker threw a wicked leg kick, only to check Kelvin's leg kick right after. To end the round, Rob checked another leg kick and delivered one of his own. Kelvin also began to wear the damage,  the right side of his face getting red and bloodied from the hooks of Whittaker. Rob looked to be bleeding from his mouth a little, so there is no doubt Kelvin was connecting as well, but there was no doubt who was controlling the stand up.

Kelvin had maybe his best round in the third. He connected with a nice left to start the round, only to lose some momentum when he connected with Rob's groin on an errant body kick. He then landed a nice combination up near the cage, forcing Rob to flee a bit. On the defensive end, Kelvin seemed to get a read on Rob's game plan; he was able to block more strikes that were connecting in the first two rounds, and was able to take advantage on some counter strikes. With all of that said, however, Whittaker took round three. He made some in-fight adjustments and began delivering some heavy strikes, particularly some gnarly leg kicks. The last leg kick in the round got a reaction out of Gastelum; it may have been enough in his own right to take the round, but his counter striking and takedown defense sealed it regardless.

Gastelum came out in the fourth round looking to do some dirty boxing; he would clinch up with Whittaker and try to do some damage, but Rob was quick to disengage and establish distance. After two or three tries of this, Kelvin seemed to abandon the idea and the striking contest continued. Rob looked as crisp as ever going into Round 4; the left side of the head of Kelvin began to bleed (looked like it was coming from his ear), a result of the continued high kicks that were connecting. Rob continued to throw his jab and counter at every opportunity. Gastelum did land his first takedown in this round, but it didn't matter much - Rob got right back up. It was becoming apparent he was going to win the fight, unless Gastelum could get a finish.

Kelvin came out with urgency to start the final round, as expected, but could not do much to pull off the late upset. Whittaker sets everything up so well; he lands a few front leg kicks, only to then front kick Gastelum catching him clean on the jaw. Gastelum is a warrior and never faded, but Rob was just a second quicker every single time. Near the end of the round, Rob actually got the back of Kelvin and seemed to be trying to lock in a rear-naked choke, but the horn sounded, and ultimately the result will be the same.

The judges scorecards read 50-45; I actually had it as 50-44, with Rob taking the first round 10-8. As Bisping emphasized, Whittaker vs. Adesanya should be next.

Reaction

This was a must win for Robert Whittaker, and he did just that. He controlled the entire fight, and while Kelvin did get some shots in, Rob never seemed to be in serious danger at any time. There's no other alternative, in my opinion, the next fight has to be Adesanya vs. Whittaker. Whittaker has now defeated Kelvin Gastelum, Darren Till, and Jared Cannonier; that's a who's who of the best of the division. Vettori's resume is just not as impressive - I think it would be a crime to have Whittaker fight anybody else. 

For Kelvin, the answer of his next opponent is not so simple. This is now three of four that Gastelum has lost; he is the 8th ranked Middleweight right now,  and with Chris Weidman vs. Uriah Hall coming soon, I expect the winner to jump Kelvin in the rankings. Maybe he takes on the loser of that matchup? It would also make some sense for him to fight a guy like Edmen Shahbazyan or Omari Akhmedov. Kevin Holland could be considered, but I don't think he will be fighting for some time, and if he does, I am of the opinion it in the Welterweight division.

Not sure if I would say that this fight saved the card, but it is something else to watch a master class like Whittaker go to work. Hats of to Gastelum as well, he was relentless up until the end with his pressure. I'm glad we got an answer in this long awaited matchup as well; we will never get Tony vs. Khabib, but at least we got this one. Now it's time for the Stylebender and the Reaper to run it back.

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