Kelvin Gastelum (photo via UFC)

By FCF Staff

Leading up to UFC 234, Kelvin Gastelum has predicted he’ll take the middleweight title from Robert Whittaker by knocking him out, and recently the challenger described how he sees that happening.

Gastelum will face Whittaker in the headliner of today’s card, which is taking place in Melbourne, Australia. In a recent interview posted at UFC.com, the hard-hitting fighter had this to say, while discussing how he envisions the fight going.

“Rob’s not a guy that usually shoots for a takedown, and neither am I. I like to box, so does he. We’re not going to be shooting for takedowns, this is going to be a striking match, and I feel like the first one to make the mistake is gonna be the first one out. I feel like my boxing will be a little bit crisper, a little bit faster and a little bit better. I’ll be hitting a little bit harder than he will and when he feels that, he’s gonna be taking a step backwards, and when I see him take those steps backwards, I’m gonna hunt him down like a lion and finish him.”

“I visualized it a million times, ever since I was 17 years old. This is all I visualized in my head. And now is the time. Now this is what’s supposed to be happening and I’m just grateful for the opportunity.”

Gastelum (15-3) is coming off a split decision win over “Jacare” Souza in May, 2018. Whittaker (20-4), on the other hand, earned a split decision win over Yoel Romero in his outing, which took place in June.