Gastelum eyes Adesanya rematch after ‘The Last Stylebender’ beats Whittaker

Kelvin Gastelum makes his prediction for the proposed title unification bout between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.

No matter what happens between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, a Gastelum-Adesanya rematch almost seems inevitable at this point.

After their Fight of the Night epic at UFC 236, which saw a bloodied, battered but not beaten Adesanya take home a well-earned unanimous decision win to capture the interim middleweight strap, Gastelum wants to run it back with Adesanya for the real title.

Gastelum, 27, believes his former opponent will beat reigning middleweight king Robert Whittaker in their upcoming title unification bout and foresees a rematch with Adesanya in the not-too-distant future.

“It’s a hard one but Israel has my respect! He really stepped up when I couldn’t! (A mistake I will never let happen again.) and showed allot of heart and so I think he will pull it off and it will set up a rematch between him and I when I win my fight as well,” Gastelum posted on Twitter.

The No.4-ranked middleweight contender also gave a positive update on his health and provided a realistic timeline for his return.

“Hoping to be cleared to train 100% in the next couple weeks, so we can start negotiations for a top contender fight by the fall. I’m only 27 and I’m only getting better. Y’all thought last fight was good? ….y’all haven’t seen me at my best yet! #OnAmission4Gold,” he tweeted.

Whittaker vs. Adesanya is all but official, so expect a date and venue to be announced in the coming weeks.