Kelvin Gastelum will look to turn his career around in 2021, starting with a matchup against Ian Heinisch in January.
Gastelum (15-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) and Heinisch (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) have agreed to a middleweight fight, according to a report Thursday from UFC broadcast partner ESPN.
The UFC Fight Night card takes place Jan. 30. A location and venue have not been announced, but the card is likely to air on ESPN or stream on ESPN+.
Gastelum has lost three consecutive fights at 185 pounds, which kicked off with his “Fight of the Year” interim title bout vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 236 in April 2019. “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner subsequently dropped fights to Darren Till and Jack Hermansson.
Now he moves back in competition against a less proven commodity in Heinisch, who has dropped two of his past three but is coming off a 76-second TKO of Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 250. Heinsich was supposed to face Brendan Allen at UFC on ESPN+ 40 on Nov. 7, but was forced out due to a positive COVID-19 test.
The latest lineup for UFC’s Jan. 30 event includes:
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Ian Heinisch
- Matt Brown vs. Carlos Condit
- Viviane Araujo vs. Roxanne Modafferi
- Vinicius Moreira vs. Ike Villanueva
- Ode Osbourne vs. Jerome Rivera
- Zarrukh Adashev vs. Jeffrey Molina
