Shavkat Rachmanov will face Kelvin Gastelum in a co-main event at welterweight on the upcoming UFC card on September 16 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of a show celebrating Mexican Independence Day.
UFC President Dana White announced the new bout, which served as the headliner for a flyweight title rematch between champ Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.
The bout between Rachmanov and Gastelum comes together after both fighters requested a confrontation and the UFC was clearly listening.
Unbeaten with a perfect 17-0 record and an impressive 100 percent finishing rate, Rakhmonov has steadily climbed the UFC rankings since debuting in the promotion. He has achieved his two biggest wins in his recent competitions after submitting both Geoff Neal and Neil Magny in back-to-back performances.
He is now looking to add Gastelum to his resume as the former interim middleweight title challenger returns to the welterweight division for the first time since 2016.
Gastelum was once touted as a future contender at 170 pounds but he struggled to gain weight on numerous occasions and this eventually led to him moving up to middleweight. This is where he made his biggest impact as he racked up notable wins over Michael Bisping, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and most recently the Fight of the Night effort against Chris Curtis.
He would jump straight into the deep end of the welterweight division with the fight against Rakhmonov in September.
More fights will be added to the upcoming card on September 16th, which will air live on ESPN+ locally.