Kelvin Gastelum pulls off biggest career win over Jake Ellenberger
Kelvin Gastelum pulled off an huge win on a historic night for the UFC.
Gastelum, the most high-profile Mexican-American on the card, finished longtime top welterweight Jake Ellenberger by submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round Saturday night at Arena Ciudad de Mexico.
"Arriba Mexico!" Gastelum shouted afterward.
Ellenberger got a body lock on Gastelum near the cage and took him down. But Gastelum pulled off a beautiful scramble and took Ellenberger's back. "The Juggernaut" seemed surprised and gave up his neck. Gastelum did not hesitate, getting hooks in and sinking in a rear-naked choke.
Ellenberger said this week that he couldn't even name any of the fighters the undefeated Gastelum (10-0) had beaten in his career -- and he wasn't even trying to be mean. This is by far the biggest win of Gastelum's young career. The Arizona native is just 23 years old and one of the most promising young fighters in all of MMA.
Gastelum came in ranked No. 11 among welterweight contenders in the UFC and Ellenberger was No. 7. Those two could be flip-flopping when the new rankings come out next week.
Ellenberger (29-9) has now lost three in a row, but they came against elite fighters Rory MacDonald, Robbie Lawler and now Gastelum. It's very doubtful the 29-year-old veteran would get released by the UFC at this juncture. There are still plenty of winnable fights left for him at welterweight, even thought it's a loaded division. He was holding his own against Gastelum before the finish came.
