MMA
Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Michael Bisping to fight Kelvin Gastelum on three-week turnaround

UFC, MMA

Less than one week after losing his UFC middleweight title, Michael Bisping has already accepted a short-notice fight against Kelvin Gastelum.

Bisping (30-8) has agreed to face Gastelum in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Nov. 25 in Shanghai. 

Gastelum (13-3) was originally scheduled to face Anderson Silva, but Silva was removed from the card this week because of a potential doping violation.

It's a very quick turnaround for Bisping, 38, who suffered a submission loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217 last weekend in New York. Bisping had broached the subject of a potential retirement before the fight, but later made it clear he intended to fight again.

Bisping, who fights out of Southern California, is no stranger to short-notice fights. He won the UFC middleweight championship in 2016 in a short-notice fight against Luke Rockhold.

For Gastelum, it's the second time a scheduled fight against Silva has fallen through. They were supposed to fight at UFC 212 this summer, but Gastelum was pulled after testing positive for marijuana.

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