Kelvin Gastelum is expected to make his return to the welterweight division on Dec. 2 when he meets top-15 ranked contender Sean Brady at a UFC Fight Night event.
MMA Fighting confirmed the matchup on Sunday following reports by Twitter user MagicM_MMABets. The bout has been verbally agreed to however contracts have yet to be signed.
Gastelum (17–8, 1 NC) returns to the welterweight division following an eight-year run at 185 pounds, which saw him vie for the interim UFC middleweight title in 2019.
The 31-year-old fighter competed at welterweight several times early in his octagon career but ultimately moved up to middleweight in 2016 due to repeated issues making weight at 170 pounds. Gastelum is just 2-5 over seven contests in the past five years, but rediscovered some momentum in April with a Fight of the Night victory over Chris Curtis.
Gastelum was previously scheduled to face Shavkat Rakhmonov on Sept. 16 in his welterweight return but was forced to withdraw in July due to injury.
Brady (15-1) has been sidelined since suffering the first loss of his professional career in Oct. 2022 at the hands of Belal Muhammad via second-round knockout.
Prior to that setback, Brady started his UFC career with five consecutive wins against the likes of Michael Chiesa, Jake Matthews, and Court McGee. The 30-year-old Philadelphia native is currently MMA Fighting’s No. 9 ranked welterweight in the world.
The UFC’s event on Dec. 2 does not currently have an official location or venue. Other confirmed bouts for the card include Jared Cannonier vs. Roman Dolidze, Rob Font vs. Deiveson Figueiredo, Miesha Tate vs. Julia Avila, and Khalil Rountree Jr. vs. Azamat Murzakanov.
Mike Heck and Damon Martin contributed to this report.
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