BOSTON – UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum expected his knockout of ex-champ Michael Bisping to get him a fight with Yoel Romero – for a title eliminator.

Instead, Romero (12-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is getting a shot at the interim title against Luke Rockhold (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), and that has Gastelum feeling snubbed.

“It does bother me a little bit that I haven’t even been considered for a shot, but it is what it is,” Gastelum (14-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) said backstage at this past Saturday’s UFC 220. “I know this is a process, and I’m just dealing with the process.”

Ex-champ Rockhold and Romero headline next month’s UFC 221, a pay-per-view event originally expected to feature a middleweight title unification bout between interim champ Robert Whittaker (19-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) and undisputed champ Georges St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC).

When St-Pierre vacated the belt to combat health issues and recently deemed undisputed champ Whittaker fell out with an injury, the promotion was left to book a replacement for the event on Feb. 11 at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia. Gastelum said he was asked to fight in February, but he wasn’t ready after enjoying his holidays.

Gastelum, whose knockout of Bisping advanced his case for a middleweight title shot, dismisses the idea that he set himself back by turning down the UFC’s request.

“What I do think set me back was Robert Whittaker getting hurt and them making that matchup for the interim belt,” Gastelum said. “That sets every middleweight back, because the winner is going to have to fight Whittaker. It’s just going to have to be a process for anyone to get a title shot.”

Gastelum now is targeting a fight in March or April and hopes he’ll get a fight that will get him over the hump in the middleweight division.

“I want the fight that’ll guarantee me the title shot,” he said. “I don’t care who it is – the No. 1 guy.”

With all the tumult in the division, Gastelum is staying ready in case another fight pops up. The name is less important than the opportunity to which it’s attached.

“At this point, it’s hard to say who,” Gastelum said. “I’m kind of just on stand-by. You’ve got the top five over here, and I’m kind of floating over here.”

To hear more from Gastelum, watch the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC 220 and UFC 221, check out the UFC Events and Rumors sections of the site.