Kelvin Gastelum set to face Ian Heinisch in UFC return fight booked for January

After an unsuccessful callout of Edmen Shahbazyan, veteran UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum has finally found himself a fight, as reports on Thursday night indicated that he is set for a collision against Ian Heinisch in January 2021.

According to sources close to ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Gastelum will be returning to Octagon action in early 2021. The 30th of January is the date set for a fight against The Hurricane. See Okamoto's tweet below.

Kelvin Gastelum (@KelvinGastelum) and Ian Heinisch (@ianheinischmma) have agreed to meet at UFC Fight Night on Jan. 30, per sources. https://t.co/c5BvOzephR

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 12, 2020

The UFC is still reportedly finalizing the fight between the two middleweights, however, all parties involved have seemingly agreed to the deal that has been laid for the tail end of January. A location for the Fight Night event is yet to be finalized and it has still not been confirmed if this fight will be the headliner for the card.

Gastelum, who has been looking for a fight after his last outing against Jack Hermansson, recently called out Shahbazyan, whose nickname is 'The Golden Boy'. But it looks like the UFC had other plans for the veteran fighter.

Kelvin Gastelum looking to shrug off losing streak by beating Heinisch

Kelvin Gastelum is currently on a three-fight losing streak in the UFC. The former interim title contender previously went toe-to-toe with Israel Adesanya in a potential Fight of the Year collision. The former, in his last outing, lost to Jack Hermansson in Fight Island and has also lost to Darren Till on this run.

It’s been a process trying to book a fight,date & opponent. My health will be optimal come fight night. Excited to compete once again. Thank you @AliAbdelaziz00 @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite for making this happen. #OnAmission4Gold

— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) November 12, 2020

Desperate for a win, Gastelum will look to put a dominant performance when he steps into the cage with Ian Heinisch next year. The latter, meanwhile, was recently set for a fight against Brendan Allen but was forced to pull out after testing positive for COVID-19. Heinisch's last taste of action before that was back in June, securing an impressive win over Gerald Meerschaert. However, the fight against Gastelum could be his toughest test in the Octagon to date.

The UFC late January card is yet to confirm other fights. Yet a bout between Gastelum and Heinisch is a promising start to that event's line-up.