There has been a change to the scheduled middleweight fight between Tom Breese and Cezar Ferreira at UFC London. After Ferreira pulled out earlier this week, the UFC was looking for a replacement. They found one in Ian Heinisch. Heinisch will be looking to improve to 2-0 in the promotion, while Breese enters the fight with a 4-1 record in the octagon. Heinisch shared the fight announcement on his Facebook.
Here we go March 16th! #UFClondon #hurricaneszn #xonthechest Jason House to all my english mates lets show out in London! #secondhome #england
Posted by Ian Heinisch on Thursday, February 7, 2019
Fighting in Enemy Territory
Ian Heinisch is not only taking a fight against a tough opponent on short notice, but he is doing it in his opponents home country. Breese, who is from England, will undoubtedly be the fan favorite in this fight. Heinisch fought under the same circumstances in his UFC debut, when he defeated Ferreira, a favorite of the Buenos Aires fans. He was the underdog in that fight, and he will likely be the underdog in this fight, too. But, Ian Heinisch has already shown to not be phased by being an underdog in a foreign country, even if it was just one fight.
Breese Staying At Middleweight
Breese, in his last fight, made his middleweight debut and knocked out Dan Kelly in the first round. Not making the cut to welterweight perhaps improved his performance inside of the octagon. Now, he’ll get to see if he can continue to find success at middleweight.
Striker vs Striker
Both of these guys have shown off their striking abilities to this point in their careers. Ian Heinisch earned his UFC contract by winning via first-round knockout on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Before that, he had two consecutive knockouts in LFA. Breese, though he is a BJJ black belt, has knocked out his opponent in three of his four UFC wins. This fight will likely showcase solid striking, between two fighters looking for an impressive win to start an ascent towards the middleweight rankings.