Kelvin Gastelum calls out fellow middleweight contender Edmen Shahbazyan

Former Ultimate Fighter winner Kelvin Gastelum has called out fellow middleweight contender Edmen Shahbazyan for an upcoming fight at 185lbs.

Gastelum most recently was seen on Fight Island getting submitted by a Jack Hermansson heel hook this past summer. Prior to that, he had dropped a split decision to Darren Till and lost a unanimous decision to Israel Adesanya. Overall, Gastelum has lost three straight fights in the Octagon, but he is still ranked at No. 8 in the UFC because his three losses were to higher-ranked opponents. Overall, Gastelum is 10-6, 1 NC in the Octagon.

Shahbazyan, meanwhile, is the No. 11 ranked middleweight and he most recently was seen getting finished by Derek Brunson in an upset this past summer. Despite the loss to Brunson, Shahbazyan is still one of the top-15 fighters in the UFC middleweight division, and with no opponent currently booked, he makes sense as a callout target by Gastelum.

Taking to his social media this week, Gastelum politely called out Shahbazyan on Twitter.

Hope all is well during this pandemic @edmenshahbazyan.
I’ve been waiting to sign a contract, and all we need is your signature. Thank you 🙏 @AliAbdelaziz00 @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite @ufc

— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) November 11, 2020

Hope all is well during this pandemic @edmenshahbazyan. I’ve been waiting to sign a contract, and all we need is your signature. Thank you @AliAbdelaziz00 @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite @ufc

Gastelum actually hasn’t officially won a fight since May 2018, when he defeated Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza by split decision. Prior to that, He had knocked out Michael Bisping. Gastelum has been in the UFC since 2013 and has defeated the likes of Uriah Hall, Jake Ellenberger, Nate Marquardt, Johny Hendricks, and Tim Kennedy during his UFC run.

As for Shahbazyan, he won the first 11 fights of his MMA career including victories over Brad Tavares, Jack Marshman, and Darren Stewart before finally losing his perfect record to Brunson. At just 22 years of age, Shahbazyan is still someone who could make a run for the title in the future, but first, he will have to bounce back from the TKO loss to Brunson.

Do you want to see Kelvin Gastelum fight Edmen Shahbazyan?