The World Series of Fighting (WSOF) not only has a new three-year deal with NBC Sports Network and an announced second event in March, they also have a headliner for that card. Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will face one-time UFC welterweight contender turned light heavyweight Anthony Johnson in the main event. That bout is expected to take place at heavyweight, a first for Johnson.
The Belorussian and Greg Jackson-trained fighter confirmed the news via his Twitter account on Monday.
Arlovski, 34, 4-0-1 in his last five fights, which include wins over Travis Fulton, Ray Lopez as well as first-round TKO over Devin Cole at the inaugural WSOF event in November of 2012. Prior to his recent run of success, Arlovski lost four in a row in the Strikeforce organization, culminating in a knockout loss to Sergei Kharitonov in February of 2011. He is 19-9-1 overall in professional MMA.
Johnson, 28, is on a four-fight win streak since being cut from the UFC after a first-round submission loss to Vitor Belfort in January of 2012. Since then, he’s gone on to defeat David Branch, Esteves Jones, and Jared Rosholt. He also knocked out D.J. Linderman at the inaugural WSOF event last November. This upcoming bout with Arlovski marks his first at heavyweight. He is 14-4 in professional MMA.
The second WSOF event is scheduled for March 23 at 10 p.m. ET from the Revel Sports & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Bantamweights Marlon Moraes is expected to face Tyson Nam while a bout between lightweights Justin Gaethje and Gesias Cavalcante is in place.