World Series of Fighting is stacking the deck for a big card in October.
UFC veterans Jon Fitch and Yushin Okami will face off in the main event and, in the co-main event, Blagoy Ivanov will make his first heavyweight title defense against Derrick Mehmen at WSOF 24 on Oct. 17 at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn., the promotion announced Thursday.
Fitch (26-7-1, 1 NC) has won two of his last three fights, but is coming off a submission loss to Rousimar Palhares in a welterweight title fight last December. The former UFC top contender was ranked in the organization’s top-15 before he was released in 2013. Fitch, 37, is 2-2 in World Series of Fighting.
Okami (30-9) has long been considered one of the best middleweights in the world. Now, he’s moving down to welterweight. The Japan native has won four of his last six fights, but lost two of three. Okami, 34, is coming off a loss to David Branch in a WSOF middleweight title fight last November. “Thunder” owns wins over the likes of Hector Lombard, Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt.
Ivanov (12-1, 1 NC) just defeated Smealinho Rama via third-round submission to win the WSOF heavyweight belt in June. Ivanov, 28, has just one loss, in Bellator to Alexander Volkov. Mehmen (19-6) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Brett Rogers in March in Abu Dhabi. The 30-year-old has a 3-1 record in WSOF.
Also on WSOF 24, another pair of UFC veterans, Vinny Magalhaes and Matt Hamill, will meet and popular lightweight Nick Newell will compete against an opponent to be determined.
The event will air live on NBC Sports Network. WSOF also visited Foxwoods in April.