Vitor Belfort was looking for one more night of glory fighting in his homeland of Brazil.
Kelvin Gastelum wasn’t about to oblige him.
Gastelum displayed all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop in the main event of UFC Fight Night 106 in Forteleza, Brazil on Saturday night, as he buzzsawed his way to victory over the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
The Ultimate Figher 17 winner from Yuma, Ariz. drilled Belfort early and often en route to a TKO victory, getting the finish at 3:52 of the first round.
Gastelum gave a taste of what was to come early in the round, when he connected on a big right to the jaw and then dropped Belfort with a huge right hand.
It was to the veteran Belfort’s credit that he somehow managed to get back into the fight after that onslaught. But Gastelum wasn’t fazed. The end came soon thereafter as he landed a big right to the jaw and a precise straight right that brought the fight to an end.
Gastelum’s now had two impressive finishes at middleweight -- he beat Tim Kennedy at UFC 205 -- since he moved up to 185 following several weight-cut issues at welterweight.
And while Gastelum, who is now 14-2 afterhis 10th career finish, still seems to want to fight at welterweight, he hinted he’d like to fight another middleweight legend next.
“There’s a guy I really want,” Gastelum said. “I’m on a legends ass whuppin' tour, June 3 maybe, Anderson [Silva] in Rio?”
The 39-year-old Belfort (29-14), whose career spans back all the way to the UFC’s one-night tournament days, has now lost three in a row and been finished in four of his past five. Despite obvious questions about retirement, Belfort indicated he wants to have at least one more go.
“Kelvin was the better fighter tonight,” Belfort said. “I have one fight on my contract, I’d like to fight in my hometown of Rio and then we’ll see from there.”