International Fugitive to UFC Top 10 | Ian Heinisch
About this episode
Ian Heinisch shares his extraordinary journey from being an international fugitive to becoming a top 10 UFC fighter while battling addiction.
Former UFC fighter Ian Heinisch sits down with Ken Rideout for one of the wildest stories ever told on The Other Side of Hard. Ian grew up in Colorado as an elite wrestler with the talent to compete at the highest levels, but drugs, alcohol, arrests, and self-destruction quickly began overtaking his life. After leaving school and spiraling further, he moved illegally to Canada, worked door-to-door sales, was arrested and eventually deported. Back in Denver, Ian began trafficking ecstasy before being caught in a sting operation. Facing serious charges, he fled the United States for Europe. What followed was extraordinary. Ian eventually landed in Tenerife, where he says he became an international cocaine mule, traveling through Colombia, Venezuela and Aruba and swallowing packages of cocaine to transport them back to Spain. He was eventually caught, sentenced to prison, and spent roughly two and a half years incarcerated in Spain before being returned to the United States. His trip home included Rikers Island and an 11-day prisoner transport back to Colorado. Once free, Ian committed himself to mixed martial arts. He rapidly climbed through the sport, reached the UFC and broke…
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