Ian Edward Heinisch was born on August 5,1988 and is an American former mixed martial artist who previously competed in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
28 Facts About Ian Heinisch
1.
2.
Ian Heinisch, who is a Colorado native, was diagnosed with ADHD when he was young.
3.
Ian Heinisch won the Colorado state high school championship and was an All-American twice.
4.
Ian Heinisch went on to wrestle at North Idaho College but dropped out of school and originally moved to Vancouver, working as a door-to-door salesman before being deported for working illegally.
5.
Ian Heinisch was arrested for selling 2,000 ecstasy pills and headed to Amsterdam to avoid a jail sentence after meeting bail.
6.
Ian Heinisch ended up working in a bar in Spain and sleeping on the beach for three months.
7.
Not long after Ian Heinisch started drug trafficking from South America to Spain and got caught on one of his trips when a Spanish immigration officer found one kilo of cocaine on him.
8.
Ian Heinisch taught himself how to speak Spanish by reading a Spanish bible with an English dictionary and taking up boxing.
9.
Ian Heinisch turned his life around after finishing his sentence at Rikers Island in the United States and pursued an MMA career.
10.
Ian Heinisch was nearly cast for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs Team Claudia as a light heavyweight due to paperwork issues from his time in Spain ultimately prevented him from competing.
11.
Ian Heinisch appeared in Dana White's Contender Series 15 web-series program on July 31,2018, facing Justin Sumter.
12.
Ian Heinisch won the fight via knockout in the first round and was signed by UFC.
13.
Ian Heinisch made his UFC debut on November 17,2018, against Cezar Ferreira, replacing injured Tom Breese at UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Ponzinibbio.
14.
Ian Heinisch's next fight came on May 18,2019, at UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs Lee against Antonio Carlos Junior He won the fight via unanimous decision.
15.
Ian Heinisch faced Derek Brunson on August 17,2019, at UFC 241.
16.
Ian Heinisch was expected to face Brad Tavares on October 26,2019, at UFC Fight Night 162 However, Ian Heinisch was removed from the pairing in early October for undisclosed reasons.
17.
Ian Heinisch faced Omari Akhmedov on December 14,2019, at UFC 245.
18.
On March 31,2020, Ian Heinisch revealed that after fighting out his contract, Ian Heinisch signed a new, four-fight contract with the UFC.
19.
Ian Heinisch was scheduled to face Gerald Meerschaert on June 6,2020, at UFC 250.
20.
Ian Heinisch was pulled from the fight and replaced by promotional newcomer Anthony Ivy.
21.
Subsequently, the cornerman was re-tested and the initial test was proven to be false positive and Ian Heinisch was reinstated to the card.
22.
Finally, Ian Heinisch faced Meerschaert as scheduled and won the fight via TKO in the first round.
23.
Ian Heinisch was scheduled to face Brendan Allen on June 27,2020, at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs Hooker.
24.
Ian Heinisch was scheduled to face Kelvin Gastelum on January 30,2021, at UFC Fight Night 186.
25.
Ian Heinisch faced Nassourdine Imavov on July 24,2021, at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs Dillashaw.
26.
Ian Heinisch lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.
27.
Ian Heinisch was scheduled to face Sam Alvey on February 5,2022, at UFC Fight Night 200.
28.
On July 20,2023, Ian Heinisch announced that he was retiring from MMA to concentrate on treatment for his concussion issues.