Things weren’t all bad for Kelvin Gastelum despite the fact that he didn’t get to compete on Saturday night.
After both men made weight the previous day, the UFC’s return to Mexico City took a hit on the day of the event when Joe Pyfer withdrew from his matchup with Gastelum due to illness.
The middleweight clash was one of the most compelling matchups on the card and a big opportunity for the two 185-pounders.
Whilst Pyfer was looking for the biggest win of his career to date over a former title challenger who will soon become a Hall of Famer, Gastelum looked to put a controversial fight with Daniel Rodriguez behind him.
The 33-year-old chose to not waist his trip down to Mexico as he watched the fights inside the Arena CDMX before chopping it up with a former two-weight champion later on in the night.
Kelvin Gastelum and Henry Cejudo party in Mexico City after UFC Fight Night
The stars were out in Mexico City on March 30 with the likes of Alex Pereira, Diego Lopes and Julio Cesar Chaves all in attendance for the card headlined by Brandon Moreno vs Steve Erceg.
Whilst Pereira and others unsurprisingly drew a big reaction from the crowd when they were shown to be sitting in the audience, that wasn’t the case for each fighter in town.
One of the biggest names in the sport didn’t receive a particularly warm reception from the fans inside the building when he was shown on screen due to some of his previous comments.
Having made light of this on social media, Henry Cejudo clearly didn’t let this moment spoil his night as he partied after the event with Kelvin Gastelum.
Along with photos with the likes of Chavez and UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard, Cejudo shared videos of himself and Gastelum, via Dylan Rush’s Instagram, of people dancing on tables whilst a live band played.
Gastelum may have missed out on the opportunity to secure back-to-back wins for the first time since 2018 but it appears that he had a good night in the end regardless.
Kelvin Gastelum needs to fight Joe Pyfer next
Since his incredible meeting with Israel Adesanya in 2019, Kelvin Gastelum has gone 3-5 inside the Octagon with five cancelled fights along the way.
His losses have come against top opposition but it’s clear that the former The Ultimate Fighter winner needs to rally to some degree.
A win over Joe Pyfer would help him restore some serious momentum but he’ll need to wait a bit longer before making his return.
The matchup makes so much sense for both men that whilst it was disappointing to have it fall of the card on such late notice, rebooking it is still the best option.