UFC 206: Kelvin Gastelum to fight Tim Kennedy after having suspension lifted

KELVIN Gastelum’s scheduled clash with Tim Kennedy at UFC 206 is officially ON after the New York State Athletic Commission lifted their suspension on the former TUF winner.

Gastelum has had issues making weight at welterweight, and failed to make weight for his bout against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 205 in New York earlier this month.

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As a result was suspended for six months by the NYSAC – a punishment we haven’t seen from other athletic commissions in the past.

But after negotiations between the commission, Gastelum and the UFC, the punishment has been reduced to a $2,000 fine, allowing Gastelum to take his place on the UFC 206 card on December 10.

He’ll take on Tim Kennedy in a middleweight bout, meaning he has 15lbs more leeway when it comes to making weight, with the limit set to 186lbs for their non-title clash in Toronto.

MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani first reported the news late last night as the UFC 206 event received a much-needed boost.

Originally set to feature a light-heavyweight title fight between Daniel Cormier and Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson as its main event, that bout fell through last weekend following the news of Cormier’s injury withdrawal.

And long-standing rumours of a potential return to the UFC for Canadian MMA legend Georges St-Pierre for the Toronto event ended in disappointment for the Canadian fight fans when it was revealed a deal couldn’t be thrashed out between the former welterweight champion and the UFC.

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The event will now be headlined by an interim featherweight title bout between Hawaii’s in-form Max Holloway and former UFC lightweight champion Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis.