Predicting All 12 UFC Champions One Year From Now
3. Middleweight Champion - Kelvin Gastelum
The Middleweight division has been a fascinating one for some time now. Michael Bisping surprised everyone with a great run as champion in the back-half of his career, before losing to the G.O.A.T, George St. Pierre. Pierre came out of retirement for the bout, won the title via shock knockout, then vacated it due to injury. That left interim champion Robert Whittaker as the Undisputed Champion.
Whittaker was scheduled to face Luke Rockhold but pulled-out due to a staph infection, then beat Yoel Romero in a non-title fight at UFC 225 - due to Romero missing weight. Now Romero has been announced as a coach for The Ultimate Fighter 28, and his opposing number will be Kelvin Gastelum. That means the two will fight for the Middleweight Championship sometime later this year.
Gastelum retired Michael Bisping with a gnarly knockout and beat Ronaldo Souza via decision at UFC 224. When he fights Whittaker, you can bet on Gastelum to become the new champion. It's possible Gastelum will fight again by July 2019 but not guaranteed. On a side note, Look for Paulo Costa to be the next big thing in the Middleweight division and potentially capture the title by year end 2019.