Kelvin Gastelum’s UFC 273 roller coaster ride ended abruptly on Friday with the announcement that the No. 10 ranked UFC middleweight was off the upcoming pay-per-view card.
The UFC simply stated that an injury had forced the former interim title challenger from the event. On Saturday, Gastelum provided some additional insight into his withdrawal in a recent post on social media.
“I wish it was an April Fool’s joke,” said Gastelum. “I wish this didn’t happen, but it did, and unfortunately, I have to withdraw from the fight.”
Gastelum, who is on a two-fight losing skid—and 1-5 dating back to his loss to Israel Adesanya in the interim 185-pound UFC title fight in April 2019--was originally scheduled to face Nassourdine Imavov on the April 9 PPV card.