NYSAC Taking Action on Kelvin Gastelum
Kelvin Gastelum’s weigh-in appeared to bring about some controversy, and now he will be hearing from the New York State Athletic Commission about it.
Gastelum was the last fighter to weigh-in for UFC 244, where he is scheduled to take on Darren Till in the co-main event. Gastelum successfully came in at 184 pounds, but it appeared he needed some assistance to do so.
Footage from the weigh-in appeared to show Gastelum leaning his elbow on his coach, Rafael Cordiero, as the former interim middleweight title challenger’s weight was being measured.
🚨There's some controversy about Kelvin Gastelum's weigh-in. It appears as though he's leaning on his coach for the weigh-in. It's reminiscent of Daniel Cormier's #towelgate. Also worth noting that Kelvin did not use the hoop, all other fighters did. pic.twitter.com/YGZfNmLNkI
— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) November 1, 2019
The NYSAC later released a statement on the matter, claiming that the co-main event would go on as scheduled, but disciplinary measures against Gastelum might be taken. An update an hour later, per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, claimed that it was determined Gastelum did make contact with his coach and would be disciplined.
NYSAC has released a statement regarding Kelvin Gastelum’s weigh-in this morning. The UFC 244 co-main is on and the weight will stand. But the commission is reviewing the matter and could take disciplinary action. Gastelum allegedly leaned on coach Rafael Cordeiro on the scale. pic.twitter.com/eFz5ehxFrY
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) November 1, 2019
The NYSAC has now determined that Gastelum did indeed make contact with Cordeiro, which is in violation of commission rules. The NYSAC will seek disciplinary action against Gastelum, per state Department of State spokesperson Mercedes Padilla. https://t.co/ihFA9rNKbU
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) November 1, 2019
Gastelum responded to the news in a tweet of his own, calling the situation “fake news.”
#FakeNews Don’t believe everything you read. Lets do this tomorrow! Thank you all for your support! #UFC244
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) November 1, 2019
New York was the state that hosted UFC 210 a couple of years ago, an event that saw then-UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier make weight via his now infamous towel-grabbing incident. The NYSAC intensified the strictness of its weigh-in procedures following this.