Anderson Silva to meet Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro

Kelvin Gastelum will continue on his Legends Tour of the middleweight division on June 3 when he meets former champion Anderson Silva at UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro.

Since moving back to middleweight for a bout with Tim Kennedy at UFC 206 in Toronto, Gastelum has been sensational. He dominated Kennedy and stopped him in the third round of their Dec. 10 bout at the Air Canada Centre, and then blew out Vitor Belfort in one round on Saturday in Fortaleza, Brazil.

After the fight, Gastelum said he wanted Silva and on Tuesday, the UFC granted him his wish.

The significance of the bout is obvious for Gastelum, who is a young fighter on the rise and would help his name recognition by defeating the legendary ex-champion.

But for Silva, it’s not as clear. He broke a two-fight losing streak at UFC 208 on Feb. 11, when he scored a disputed unanimous decision victory over Derek Brunson.

Silva, who was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for a year in 2015 for using a performance enhancing drug, showed sheer joy at the ability to compete once again. The crowd in Brooklyn clearly loved him and Silva loved the attention.

Silva is ranked No. 7 and Gastelum is No. 10 at middleweight, and a win would push him closer to a bout with champion Michael Bisping.

Silva, who will be 42 on fight night, lost a tough decision to Bisping last year in his first fight back after his suspension.

He’d said after losing the belt to Chris Weidman in 2013 that he wanted nothing more to do with the championship, but he called out Bisping (and Nick Diaz) in an Instagram post on Monday, so he’s apparently now fine with making another run for the title.

While Gastelum is clearly a budding star, he’s ranked behind Silva in the rankings. And Yoel Romero, who is ranked first, called out Silva on Monday. A win over Romero would have created a quicker path to the title shot for Silva.

As great as Silva is, he’ll have his hands full with Gastelum.

It figures to be an entertaining fight for however long it lasts, and it will carry significance within the division, so count us fully in on this one.