Weidman tops Gastelum

25-year-old Yuma native loses via 3rd-round submission

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Chris Weidman sat on top of the Octagon, his arms outstretched, his mouth agape.

It had been a long time since he could experience that feeling.

Seven hundred and ninety one days, to be exact.

“It feels like a championship,” Weidman said, after he submitted Kelvin Gastelum with an arm triangle choke at 3:45 of the third round Saturday night in a UFC on Fox event at Nassau Coliseum. “I can’t wait to tell my kids I won.”

Weidman the former Hofstra wrestler fighting just across the Hempstead Turnpike from the university’s campus, snapped a three-fight losing streak to improve to 14-3. Gastelum, a 25-year-old Yuma native, dropped to 14-4-0 with one nodecision.

The win was Weidman’s first since knocking out Vitor Belfort at UFC 187 on May 23, 2015. “This is a surreal feeling,” Weidman said. “This is an indescribable moment. I wanted to come out here and prove myself.”

After spending much of the first two minutes feinting and circling, Weidman successfully wrestled Gastelum to the canvas. But with seconds left in the round, Gastelum landed a hook to Weidman’s chin that dropped the former middleweight champion before the bell rang.

“Thirty more seconds and I could have finished the fight,” said Gastelum, a graduate of Cibola High School.

Weidman then relied on his wrestling skills against the former Ultimate Fighter winner, setting up opportunities to land hard, accurate punches in the third. Following a sequence in which the two grappled alongside the cage, Weidman took down Gastelum and transitioned to the submission. After a few moments, Gastelum tapped out.

Weidman hopped the cage and celebrated with 11,198 of his Long Island fans before returning to the octagon to hugged family and team members.

“I did it in the Nassau Coliseum. I grew up five minutes down the road,” said Weidman, who later pushed for a fight with current middleweight champion Michael Bisping. “Bisping has been running. I’m the champ. I’m