Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Kelvin Gastelum Set for UFC Fight Night Co-Main on Sept. 16

Rising welterweight contender Shavkat
Rakhmonov will welcome Kelvin
Gastelum back to 170 pounds in the co-main event of a UFC Fight
Night card on Sept. 16.

UFC president Dana White announced the booking on Wednesday
evening. The UFC Fight Night event is being held in honor of
Mexican Independence Day and is headlined by a flyweight
championship rematch between Alexa
Grasso and Valentina
Shevchenko. The card takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
and will air on ESPN+.

Undefeated in 17 professional appearances, Rakhmonov is a rising
star in the UFC’s welterweight division. The 28-year-old Kazakhstan
native is coming off a third-round submission of Geoff Neal in
his last outing at UFC 285 this past March. The former M-1 Global
title holder also owns wins over Neil Magny,
Carlston
Harris, Michel
Prazeres and Alex
Oliveira in the Octagon.

Gastelum has endured his share of struggles in recent years, going
2-5 in UFC competition since 2019. Most recently, “The Ultimate
Fighter 17” winner outpointed Chris
Curtis in a 185-pound clash at UFC 287 on April 8. Gastelum
hasn’t attempted to compete at welterweight since 2016, when he
defeated ex-champ Johny
Hendricks at UFC 200. While he made weight for that bout, he
has previously struggled on the scales when attempting to make 170
pounds.