“At least for now, yes,” Gastelum said. “My sole focus is on this middleweight division and I’m a guy that likes to stay active. I want to defend the title multiple times and not be out for a year. I want to legitimize the middleweight division and make it better.”
Sounds like a man settling in for a long reign at the top should he beat Adesanya this weekend and then do it all again against Whittaker. It’s an ambitious plan, but one he is confident of achieving. And that confidence doesn’t come from a belief that he’s a better striker than Adesanya, a better submission artist than “Jacare” Souza or a better wrestler than Chris Weidman. It comes from his gut, a belief that he simply wants it more than his opponents.
“That’s pretty much my thing in every fight,” he said. “I feel like I want it more than most of these guys. When I step into the Octagon, I think that’s what sets me apart from them. I’m not necessarily the better fighter; I just want it more. I show more grit, I show more will, and I’m not the fastest guy, the most skilled guy, but my will is superior to a lot of these guys.”
There’s no underestimating that aspect of the fight game, but it doesn’t mean that the 27-year-old Gastelum isn’t just a hard-nosed competitor with rudimentary skills. Instead, Gastelum can handle himself on the feet or the mat, and while he can take an opponent into deep waters at a grueling pace, he can also knock him out early. So though there might be the assumption that Gastelum will try to take Adesanya to places he’s never seen before, he doesn’t rule out an early finish either.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “I never really know, but I prepare myself for the worst of occasions. I prepare myself for 25 hard minutes, but my goal is always to end it as soon as possible. I don’t want to be in there more than I have to.”
He laughs, but he’ll go all 25 if it means leaving Atlanta with a title belt around his waist. That’s something you can’t teach, but it’s also something that’s hard to explain.
“I don’t know,” Gastelum said. “Either I’m too much of an idiot (Laughs) or I just don’t know how to give up. It’s the truth. I don’t know any other way but to not give up. It’s just in me.”
On Saturday, he brings it out for the world. April 13. His night.
“It’s gonna be hard to beat me that night,” he said. “That night is a special night for me.”
