Yoel Romero was selected to replace injured UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker against former champion Luke Rockhold for the main event of UFC 221.
Kelvin Gastelum is a top ranked fighter in the middleweight division and the competitor feels the UFC snubbed him by choosing Romero to compete at UFC 221.
“It does bother me a little bit that I haven’t even been considered for a shot, but it is what it is,” Gastelum said backstage at UFC 220. “I know this is a process, and I’m just dealing with the process.”
Gastelum sits at #6 in the UFC Middleweight Division right now, with both Rockhold and Romero ahead of him in those rankings.
The one thing Gastelum believes is that no matter what happens at UFC 221, it is going to set the middleweight division back a bit.
“What I do think set me back was Robert Whittaker getting hurt and them making that matchup for the interim belt,” Gastelum said. “That sets every middleweight back, because the winner is going to have to fight Whittaker. It’s just going to have to be a process for anyone to get a title shot.”
UFC 221 takes place on Saturday, February 10 from the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia with Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
