UFC fighter Ian Heinisch retired from MMA last year due to brain health concerns and he’s now spoken out in more detail about what happened.
“Man, I hid it for probably a year-and-a-half,” Heinisch told MMAJunkie. “When I was supposed to fight Sam Alvey, I had to pull out of that fight. I couldn’t hide it anymore. I couldn’t go to the gym. I didn’t feel like myself. I had headaches all the time. I had confusion. One time, I was driving in my car and I forgot where I was at. That was when I was like, ‘OK, my only priority right now is to feel normal again.’
“Luckily, through stem cells and CPI and all these different treatments and just time, not getting hit, I’m feeling good. I’m still training, not doing anything contact. But I love this sport, man. It chose me, and now it’s been taken from me. It sucks, but my heart is still here for the people and I love my journey.”
Heinisch had arrived in the UFC via the Contender Series in 2018 with an 11-1 career record, and he started his time in the Octagon well with two decision wins in a row.
However, he then went on to lose four of his next five fights, with the last being a TKO loss to Nassourdine Imavov in 2021 that would prove to be the last bout of his career.
He then pulled out of the fight with Alvey the following year citing concussion issues and then after taking an extended time out to try to recover eventually retired in 2023.
Thankfully, though his fighting career may be over, the 36-year-old’s health appears to be in a much better place now after giving his brain time to heal.
“At one point, I didn’t care if I fought again,” Heinisch admits. “I didn’t care about anything except to feel normal again. It was to that point. If you’re struggling with that, man, I’m telling you, rest your brain. It can heal, but you’ve got to let it rest. It was tough. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life. I’ve been training MMA, eating, sleeping, and breathing this sport for the past decade. I changed my life. I was rock bottom in a foreign prison cell and I got to the top 10. I felt like I was close to making a title run, but God has different plans. I’m blessed in this journey. God is using me for where I’m at now.”
