UFC 241: Derek Brunson Hands Ian Heinisch First UFC Defeat

Derek Brunson has been criticized for fighting too aggressively and recklessly in some of his performances. But, the powerful middleweight was calm and composed tonight at UFC 241, and outscored rising middleweight, Ian Heinisch.

Round one

Heinisch came charging out and moments in, he clipped Brunson with a head kick that briefly put the middleweight down. Brunson attempted to take Heinisch down but was unable to. The two fired off some big shots, and mid-round, Brunson defended a TD attempt. Brunson continued to threaten with his big left and then shot in again. Heinisch, once more, defended the shot and began pressing forward. Right before the round ended, Brunson went for another TD but couldn’t secure it.

Round two

Heinisch shot in not long into round two, but Bruson countered with a couple of hard punches. Brunson landed a couple of more shots and Heinisch changed levels in response. Bruson stayed busy with kicks and mid-round, he scored with several more punches. Heinisch appeared to be fading in contrast to Brunson. The latter slipped later in the round and took a couple of punches from Heinisch. Brunson squashed another TD attempt from Heinisch late in the frame.

Round three

Colby Covington showed up in the arena and a “Colby sucks” chant began. In the cage, Brunson swept Heinisch to the mat but the latter popped right back up. Heinisch continued to press forward but Brunson countered well. As the mid-round neared, Brunson took Heinisch down but the latter quickly worked his way back up. Brunson scored with a nice straight left but several moments later, Heinisch planted a hard right. Heinisch was clearly exhausted but he continued to press forward. Brunson attempted a late TD attempt but Heinisch defended.

Brunson was awarded the UD win, and as a result, he snapped the five-fight, winning streak of Heinisch.

Here are the results for far for UFC 241, which is taking place in Anaheim, California.

Derek Brunson def. Ian Heinisch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Khama Worthy def. Devonte Smith via TKO (punches) R1, 4:15

Cory Sandhagen def. Raphael Assuncao via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Drakkar Klose def. Christos Giagos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Casey Kenney def. Manny Bermudez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Hannah Cifers def. Jodie Esquibel via unanimous decision (30-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Kyung Ho Kang def. Brandon Davis via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Sabina Mazo def. Shana Dobson via unanimous decision (30-24, 30-25, 30-25)