Kelvin Gastelum pounds Michael Bisping in first round KO at UFC Shanghai
American opens the door to a possible title shot against St Pierre after scoring a devastating quick-fire victory against the Englishman while The Leech raises the roof with a tremendous display himself
American Kelvin Gastelum grabbed the title lifeline thrown at him on Saturday night, knocking one-time middleweight champion Michael Bisping to the canvas – and out of action – at 2.57 of the first round of their headline clash as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) made its debut in mainland China.
The 26-year-old (14-3) had arrived in Shanghai saying the fact that Bisping (30-9) had signed on for the fight on three weeks’ notice – after original headliner Anderson Silva’s failed drug test – had made the bout all that bigger.
It meant, he said, if he won the door would open to a possible title shot against the legend that is Georges St Pierre (26-2), the man who took The Count’s crown.
On Saturday night at the sold-out Mercedes-Benz Arena, Gastelum duly threw that door wide open. He overpowered the British 38-year-old with a huge left-right combination and follow-up barrage that had the referee waving it all away.
“This is the biggest win of my career,” said Gastelum. “I’m going to try not to get emotional. I’ve a huge amount of respect for Bisping. He throws a mean left hook but I just worked on that right. There’s a main event at the event in Australia [Perth] in February and I’m up for that. [Interim middleweight champion] Robert Whittaker (19-4) is there and he doesn’t have an opponent so I want that spot.”