Botched weight cut forces change in Kelvin Gastelum vs Daniel Rodriguez bout at UFC Saudi Arabia

Kelvin Gastelum can’t make weight … again.

His welterweight contest against Daniel Rodriguez, scheduled for the UFC Saudi Arabia fight card on Sat. (June 22, 2024) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, will now take place at middleweight after “lots of moving parts behind the scenes.”

“Matchmakers reached out and I tried to get it to a catchweight, but he must be having such a bad fight camp that he can’t even make 180,” Rodriguez said during the UFC Saudi Arabia media day. “It’s been 13 weeks since I found out about this fight. I’m sure he has, too. So the fact that he’s saying that he’s having a bad fight camp makes no sense. I feel like it’s lack of discipline. I don’t know if he’s having a bad fight camp or he’s just being lazy and doesn’t want to make the weight.”

Gastelum has a long and ugly history of missing weight and was previously banned from competing at welterweight. The promotion eventually agreed to his 170-pound return; however, this latest misstep does not bode well for his future in the division.

Here’s an update from Gastelum’s Twitter account that was later deleted:

Hard to give Gastelum the benefit of the doubt after so many botched weigh ins.

“I already agreed to 185,” Rodriguez continued. “I’m so invested in this fight. It put me in a really tough spot. I need this fight to happen. It’s been such a long fight camp and I did agree to take a percentage of his purse, which is only fair. I just felt like 180 would have been a good weight, but it’s not my first time coming through for the company, and I want the UFC to know that I’m that guy that’s going to make the sacrifices even if it’s not in my favor. … In the sense of being a professional, I feel like I lost a little respect for the guy.”

For the rest of the UFC Saudi Arabia fight card and ABC lineup click here.