Yoel Romero’s manager says Kelvin Gastelum turned down main event slot at UFC Belem

Yoel Romero’s manager, Malki Kawa, mocked Kelvin Gastelum for allegedly turning down a fight at UFC Belem.

Surging UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum did everything in his power to campaign for a title shot against Robert Whittaker, but the UFC decided former champion Luke Rockhold was more deserving of the opportunity.

With Rockhold booked to challenge Whittaker for the official 185-pound title on Feb. 11 at UFC 221 in Perth, Australia, given that Georges St-Pierre has vacated the belt, Gastelum is in need of a new opponent.

According to renowned MMA manager Malki Kawa, who works with the likes of Jon Jones and Yoel Romero, Gastelum turned down a fight with ‘Soldier of God’ at UFC Belem.

Kawa called out Gastelum on social media.

Romero, who is ranked at #2 in the official middleweight rankings, lost his first fight under the UFC banner this past July, dropping a decision to Robert Whittaker in an interim title bout at UFC 213. The Olympic silver medalist has beat the likes of Lyoto Machida, ‘Jacare’ Souza, and Chris Weidman and is considered one of the most dangerous fighters in the division.

Gastelum, who won 2013’s Ultimate Fighter 17 middleweight tournament, has yet to respond to Kawa but feels he should have been granted the title shot over Rockhold.

The Californian is coming off a huge first-round KO win over former champ Michael Bisping and is likely to respond to Kawa in the coming days.