Kelvin Gastelum vs. Dustin Stoltzfus squared off in a Catchweight contest earlier tonight (Sat. Sept. 13, 2025) live on ESPN+ inside Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. After 15 competitive minutes, Gastelum was named the victor.
Gastelum entered the cage looking positively bloated after his gargantuan weight miss on Friday morning. He walked right to Stoltzfus and blasted him with a body shot, but Stoltzfus returned the favor with a pair of heavy body kicks. Gastelum then landed a cracking combination,
and this fight didn’t seem likely to last long after the opening 30 seconds. Stoltzfus continued to work the body and lead leg with his right kicks, blasting the Southpaw every time he stepped in to range.
Stoltzfus’ inside low kick was starting to bother Gastelum, knocking him out of his stance. Gastelum found a hard 1-2 down the middle, his signature combo. The whole round really turned out to be a battle of Stoltzfus’ right kick versus Gastelum’s left hand, and both weapons found the mark often. With short time remaining, Stoltzfus changed tactics, timing a double leg takedown well to gain top position for a brief moment.
After a competitive opening round, Stoltzfus was bleeding freely.
Gastelum opened the second with a nasty four-punch combination, landing every shot and stunning the taller man. A minute later, a crisp counter left from Gastelum badly wobbled Stoltzfus, who responded by biting down on his mouthpiece and firing right back. Stoltzfus is undeniably tough, but he was getting absolutely bombed on by the left hands. With about 90 seconds remaining in the round, Gastelum floored Stoltzfus with a left, but somehow the grappler turned that into a takedown. He actually managed to threaten a choke and land some big shots before the bell, but round two undoubtedly belonged to the former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) champion.
Stoltzfus found some hard kicks early in round three, but Gastelum shut down his takedown attempt. Stoltzfus went back to the inside low kick to good effect. Stoltzfus landed two hard power punches in a wild exchange, and both looked a little fatigued. Gastelum started timing his left again well. Stoltzfus found a hard counter knee but ate a second left hand when he tried to do it again. Gastelum finished the bout with a spinning punch, but it was still up in the air as to who would earn the judges’ decision after 15 hard-fought minutes.
Ultimately, Gastelum was named the victor via unanimous decision.
The big question, however, is whether or not the win saves his UFC career. Gastelum has missed weight an absurd number of times, and he’s definitely not improving. He just went life-and-death with Dustin Stoltzfus, who has a UFC record of 3-7 after this defeat. Stoltzfus is better than his record implies, but still … this is the guy who nearly halted prime Israel Adesanya’s rise?
It’s tough to watch Gastelum fight and not think about what could have been.
Result: Gastelum via unanimous decision
For complete Noche UFC 3 results and play-by-play, click here.
