Kelvin Gastelum went through the valley of the shadow of death during long layoff before UFC 287

MIAMI – Kelvin Gastelum is well aware of his dire circumstances going into UFC 287, and instead of shying away from it, he’s embracing it. Gastelum (16-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) enters Saturday’s featured preliminary bout with Chris Curtis (30-9 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at Kaseya Center with five losses in his past six fights. Every bout in that stretch came against high-level competition, but no matter how you slice it, “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner needs to get his hand raised in his ESPN-televised middleweight bout, which airs prior to the pay-per-view main card and following prelims on ESPN+. Add the…