UFC 241 adds middleweight fight between Derek Brunson and Ian Heinisch

An intriguing middleweight bout is in the works for this summer’s blockbuster UFC 241 card.

Middleweights Derek Brunson and Ian Heinisch will meet at UFC 241, which takes place August 17 at Honda Center in Anahein, California. MyMMANews.com first broke news of the bout, which has been rumored for some time.

Brunson (19-7) is coming off of a unanimous decision win over now-ex UFC fighter Elias Theodorou back at the UFC Ottawa Fight Night Card earlier this year. Overall the 35-year-old American is 10-5 in the UFC with seven wins coming by stoppage. Before beating Theodorou, he had lost back-to-back fights to Israel Adesanya and Ronaldo Souza, two of the best middleweights in the world. Brunson is not an elite top-five middleweight by any means, but he is certainly top-15 in the world in his weight class and has become one of the toughest gatekeepers to fight in the division.

Heinisch (13-1) is currently riding a five-fight win streak and is 2-0 in the UFC with victories over Antonio Carlos Junior and Cezar Ferreira. The 30-year-old American has been a great story in the sport as a former Rikers Island inmate who has turned his life around for the better since competing in MMA. He looks like a tremendous prospect in the UFC’s stacked middleweight division, and after two solid wins in his first two UFC fights he now gets the chance to fight a ranked opponent in the division.

The betting odds have not been released for this bout yet, but given that the other fights at UFC 241 have odds for them out already, it’s possible the oddsmakers could reveal these odds soon.

UFC 241 is headlined by UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier taking on Stipe Miocic in a rematch. It also features a welterweight superfight between Anthony Pettis and Nate Diaz in the co-main event, plus an intriguing middleweight bout between Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.