It’s easy to forget his peak was 2013-2016, then a drop off. That was 9-12 years ago. The biggest issue is he lost some really close fights over and over, and that has to kill your drive and momentum.
If he had taken diet and training more seriously, he could have won those fights.
He’s never getting back to the top, and his record is starting to do that thing that happens to fighters who went undefeated for a long time, win, loss loss loss, win, loss. A weight cut would make him WORSE. He needs to get to ATT and get the right drug coach.
But Gastellum
Is a good wrestler fighting a KO artist yet he didn’t really seem to want to turn it into a grappling match.. so many fighters get fucked into a “gotta stand and bang!” And it’s fucking retarded!!
Age, injuries, and fatigue have more to do with that that anything if you ask me. Hips, knees, & back start to hurt, stamina is a factor & fighting bigger guys for a takedown hits the gas tank hard…They may be less willing to get down on the matt & roll around when they can just stay loose & bouncy on the feet looking for the right shot. Not saying it’s more effective, but you have no idea what these guys are feeling after 15 yrs in the game and decades of wresting/ grappling before that
Prominent MMA coach, Ray Longo, doesn’t believe all the blame should be thrown at Gastelum for his recent weigh miss. Instead, Longo is partially blaming UFC matchmakers for dragging Gastelum into a fight on short nice and expecting him to come in on weight.
“Part of the play – I don’t want to say this – is the UFC, too,” Longo claimed during a recent appearance on the “Anik & Florian Podcast” (via MMA Junkie). “They’re asking a guy on a month’s notice to fight, and it’s the old saying, ‘You put a gun in a monkey’s hand and he shoots somebody, whose fault is it?’ That’s what they did. They know the guy can’t make the weight, most likely. It’s not in their favor. Go with a guy that is a guaranteed lock.”
Longo, who has trained fighters in all different weight classes throughout his coaching career, believes Gastelum may have a “serious eating disorder” that he needs to address.
