Kelvin Gastelum is moving back to the welterweight division. The Mexican-American has been fighting at middleweight and is best remembered for his fantastic back-and-forth battle with then-champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 236 four years ago.

Since then, however, the ‘Fight Ready’ team member has fought six times and managed to win only two. Gastelum made his UFC debut at middleweight and then fought at 170 in the welterweight division for his next half a dozen fights, before moving up to 185. The former middleweight title contender moves back down to 170 and is gearing up to face Sean Brady on December 2 at UFC Fight Night, Austin. Let us take a look at his background.

Kelvin Gastelum- nationality, ethnicity, and background

Kelvin Gastelum comes from a Mexican-American family and is ethnically Hispanic with Mexican heritage. He is a citizen of the United States of America, being born in San Jose, California, in 1991. His family is from the Obregon city of the Sonora state in Mexico, where he moved briefly during his childhood before moving back to the States and settling in Arizona.

Gastelum attended the Cibola High School in Yuma, Arizona, and is an alma mater of the North Idaho College. He started wrestling in school and continued practicing and competing in college. Gastelum won a 5A Division II Arizona Interscholastic Association state championship in school and continued his promising wrestling career in college, where he was ranked as high as no. 5 by the NJCAA.

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While there is no confirmation about which religion (if any) he practices, he was born in a Christian family. He started his mixed martial arts career fighting in various smaller promotions before he was selected for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen in 2012, which began his UFC career.

Gastelum defeated teammate Uriah Hall in the finale to become the youngest TUF winner at 21 years old. And while his stint at the middleweight division has not been very productive, he would be looking to turn the narrative around with a dominant performance on December 2.

Gastelum to face Sean Brady in welterweight return

Gastelum is all set to face #9 ranked welterweight Sean Brady at UFC Fight Night Austin next month in his return to the welterweight division after over ten fights at middleweight. This is expected to offer him an advantage as he would be fighting a smaller guy than he is used to. However, the 32-year-old may find it quite difficult to cut weight for welterweight after having gotten used to 185.

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Gastelum was supposed to fight Shavkat Rakhmanov in September in his first fight back at 170. However, an injury forced him to pull out. Who do you think will win the Gastelum vs. Brady fight? Let us know in the comments section below.

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