UFC Fight Island: 7 Underrated Matchups Still To Come You WON'T Want To Miss!

Having already listed one exciting middleweight matchup with title implications, Jack Hermansson and Kelvin Gastelum's scheduled fight adds a second. The Swede-Norwegian expressed his thoughts on the upcoming bout, predicting a third-round stoppage win, when he meets the former middleweight title challenger Gastelum in the UFC Fight Night 172 co-main event on July 18.

Hermansson, who holds a 20-5 MMA record, was scheduled to face Chris Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion, in the main event of the May 2 card, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. His new opponent has lost his last two inside the Octagon. After a “Fight of the Year” contender against the current UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 236, the San-Jose-born striker disappointed in a lackluster decision loss to Darren Till last November.

However, Gastelum’s losses have certainly come to the divisions' leading competition and he remains a top middleweight threat. Hermansson expressed his joy at the switch in opposition, saying, “Gastelum is a little bit more up to date. Weidman has a big name but it’s a little bit about the rankings as well, and I want to move forward, and I feel like Gastelum is the right fight to do.”

Hermansson is looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Jared Cannonier at UFC Copenhagen. 'The joker' looked strong in September 2019 fight but was caught with a well-placed uppercut. With both men possessing impressive power, looking to recover from defeats and aiming for a rise up the division rankings, this middleweight matchup could be a classic.