If you were surprised by Kelvin Gastelum being booked against Darren Till, you weren’t the only one. Apparently, the suggestion came as something of a shock to Gastelum as well.

The former middleweight contender will be introducing Till to 185-pounds, but it’s not hard to see Gastelum’s less than enthused about the entire affair.

“At first thought, I was like, ‘I don’t know if it’s worth it for me to accept this kind of fight because he is coming off a two-fight losing streak,’” Gastelum told MMA Junkie. “I feel like I’m still in title contention, and I feel like I should get one of those top guys. But I want to fight in Madison Square Garden.

“I put a lot of thought on who my opponent is and why I’m fighting him, and will it get me to the title shot – will it get me closer to where I want to go. I definitely asked those questions, and none of them applied to Darren Till. I don’t think if I win – it’s not going to get me a title shot. It’s not getting me closer. But I just think I need to go out there and make a statement against a guy like Darren Till because of my last performance. I want to go out there, I want to show that I’m still hungry, I’m still in contention, and I’m still one of the best guys around at this weight class.”

Should he win, Gastelum will almost certainly be near title contention, although he could face competition from Paulo Costa.