UFC Mexico star who had Israel Adesanya 'prepared to die' open to rematch

Kelvin Gastelum relives his fight with Israel Adesanya and talks potential for rematch.

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Kelvin Gastelum wouldn't be opposed to running it back with Israel Adesanya.

The two UFC stars have went their separate ways since colliding for the interim middleweight title in 2019, that fight earning 'fight of the year' honors and a recent induction into the UFC Hall-of-Fame.

Gastelum was unluckily on the losing side of one of the greatest title fights in UFC history, pushing a then 16-0 Israel Adesanya to his absolute limits in Atlanta. It was by far Adesanya's toughest test to date with Gastelum pushing a relentless pace.

But pressure makes diamonds, and a bruised Adesanya bit down on the mouthguard, knocking down Gastelum three times in the final round to win by unanimous decision.

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Kelvin Gastelum Says Israel Adesanya Fight Was 'Killed Or Be Killed'

Five years removed from their hall-of-fame worthy fight, Israel Adesanya's on the worst losing skid of his career (3) and Gastelum returns to the middleweight division against Joe Pyfer this weekend at UFC Mexico.

"To get to that point where he's saying 'I'm prepared to die...' Not a lot of people get to that point, that type of mentality," Gastelum relived his fight with Adesanya at UFC Mexico media day. "I felt it, too. Kill or be killed. It's what I felt.

"It's what we felt."

Gastelum Asked About Potential Rematch

With wins over Michael Bisping and Jacare Souza, Kelvin Gastelum has made it to the top of the UFC middleweight division before, just falling short of interim gold against Adesanya. He plans to make the trip all over again, starting with Joe Pyfer on Saturday.

In his pre-fight interview, Gastelum was asked about the potential for a rematch against former rival Adesanya seeing as though we're back to 'contender Izzy' now.

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"It's not something that was in my radar, but if it ends up happening and the stars align for it to happen, I don't see why not," Gastelum said of possibly fighting Adesanya again.

"As far as as wanting as it being in my radar, it was not. Izzy and I have always been very cordial after the fight. He's been nothing but respectful towards me, so I feel no ill will towards him.

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"But if for whatever reason the stars align to where we're matched up again, then we'd have to consider it," Gastelum added.

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