The June World Series of Fighting 31 has a main event, as heavyweight champion Blagoy Ivanov defends his belt against Josh Copeland.
The promotion announced the contest for the June 17 card from Foxwoods Resort Casino recently. Along with Ivanov-Copeland, Mike Ricci takes on Jason High as part of the NBC Sports Network main card.
“We are looking forward to returning to the great state of Connecticut, and putting on another phenomenal world championship event featuring some of our top superstars, for fans at Foxwoods Resort Casino,” World Series of Fighting president Ray Sefo said.
Ivanov (13-1) has stopped 11 of his 13 pro wins and bested Fedor Emelianenko at the 2008 World Sambo Championships. He won seven of his eight fights with Bellator before signing with the WSOF and besting Smealinho Rama and Derrick Mehmen.
Copeland (13-1) picked up a victory over Mike Hayes recently and has earned eight career victories via either knockout or submission.
Ricci (11-4) is a former competitor on The Ultimate Fighter, while High (19-5) also made several appearances under both the Strikeforce and UFC banner. The winner will move into the role of No. 1 contender to current champion Justin Gaethje at lightweight.