Derek Brunson vs. Ian Heinisch added to UFC 241
Ian Heinisch’s ascendancy through the middleweight division has had its next stop confirmed.
Made official by the UFC on Wednesday per MMAFighting, Heinisch will take on Derek Bunson at UFC 241 in Anaheim, California on August 17th.
Heinisch (13-1) is currently on a five-fight winning streak including a 2-0 UFC record. ‘The Hurricane’ joined the UFC in 2018 after a first-round KO on ‘Dana White’s’ Tuesday Night Contender Series’ and has since defeated Cezar Ferreira and Antonio Carlos Junior via unanimous decision. The 30-year old, currently ranked as the #11 contender in the 185 lbs division, has one of the most noteworthy backstories in MMA after spending several years in prison across Europe and America.
Brunson (19-7) meanwhile snapped a two-fight losing streak in his most recent outing after recording a unanimous decision win against Elias Theodorou in May. Brunson had suffered back-to-back TKO losses to Jacare Souza and Israel Adesanya in 2018 but the 15-UFC-fight veteran holds notable wins over the likes of Lyoto Machida and Uriah Hall. Brunson is currently ranked as the #9 contender by the UFC.
UFC 241 is now scheduled to feature:
- Daniel Cormier (c) vs. Stipe Miocic – heavyweight title fight
- Anthony Pettis vs. Nate Diaz
- Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa
- Raphael Assuncao vs. Cory Sandhagen
- Derek Brunson vs. Ian Heinisch
- Sodiq Yusuff vs. Gabriel Benitez
- Poliana Botelho vs. Maryna Moroz
- John Makdessi vs. Devonte Smith