Las Vegas (Juni 15, 2016) -World Series tempur (WSOF.com) announced today that Thiago Meller has withdrawn from his scheduled welterweight (170 kilogram) kontes ngalawan John “Doomsday” Howard (23-12), anu ayeuna bakal nyanghareupan“Mad” Mike Arrant (15-10) in a middleweight (185 kilogram) bout at the much-anticipated WSOF31: Ivanov vs. Copeland world championship doubleheader Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) kajadian, hirup dina NBCSN (9 p.m. AND/6 p.m. PT) ti Foxwoods Resort Kasino di Mashantucket, Conn. dina Jumaah, Juni 17.

Salaku tambahan, undefeated Marcus Surin (3-0) of Stamford, Conn. has been tabbed to step in for Sam Watford dina dijadwalkeun lightweight (155 kilogram) preliminary card contest against Christian “The Terminator” Torres (0-0) of Endicott, N.Y..

Originally hailing from Orlando, Fla., 5-suku-9, 28-year-old Arrant, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, resides in Las Vegas, where he is a member of legendary champion Randy “The Natural” Couture’s Xtreme Couture fight squad.

Arrant is looking to return to the win column following a unanimous decision defeat in his last start on August 7, 2015, at the hands of two-time UFC veteran Brock Jardine.

Prior to the loss, Arrant had reeled off six consecutive victories, five of which he produced in the first round, by way of (T)KO atawa kaluman. Dugi ka tanggal, 12 téh nya 15 professional wins have been finishes.

During the six-fight win streak, Arrant seized his first championship – regional promotion SteelFist Fight Night’s welterweight title – with a first round (5:00) WHO (retirement) ti Carl Dieckmann dina tanggal 12, 2013.

Like Arrant, the 5-foot-7, 33-year-old Howard boasts a phenomenal finish rate with 15 téh nya 23 professional victories having come by way of (T)KO atawa kaluman.

Howard will make his promotional debut with World Series of Fighting following a second stint with the UFC that spanned seven fights and included wins over Uriah Hall, Siyar Bahadurzada jeung Cathal Pendred.

Dibanderol ti $39.99, tickets for WSOF31: Ivanov vs. Copeland are on sale at WSOF.com and Foxwoods.com.

Doors at The Grand Theatre at Foxwoods Resort Casino will open at 5 p.m. AND, and the first of seven preliminary card bouts will begin at 5:45 p.m.

Sakabéh awal kartu fight bakal ngalirkeun data langsung dina hiji pamuter video embeddable dina WSOF.com.

In the main event of the five-bout, hirup NBCSN telecast, reigning World Series of Fighting heavyweight champion Blagoy pendak (13-1) will put his title on the line against Josh “Cuddly Bear” Copeland (12-3).

Dina acara co-utama lightweight, superstars Jason "The Kansas City bandit" High (19-5) jeung Mike "The Martian" Ricci (11-4) will square off with their division’s number one contender ranking at stake.

WSOF31: IVANOV VS. COPELAND

Kartu utama (Hirup dina NBCSN)

World Series of Fighting Heavyweight Championship Main Event:
Blagoy pendak (Juara) vs. Josh Copeland (Nu nangtang)

Co-Main Lightweight Event:
Jason High vs. Mike Ricci

Middleweight: John Howard vs. Mike Arrant
Featherweight: Luis Palomino vs. Sheymon Moraes
Middleweight: Phil Hawes vs. Josh Key

Kartu awal (Hirup dina WSOF.com)

Lightweight: Tom Marcellino vs. Devin Powell
Heavyweight: Juliano Coutinho vs. Justin Willis
Heavyweight: Tyler King vs. Balong Hood
Welterweight: Robert Fonseca vs. Sean Lally
Lightweight: Bruce Boyington vs. Saul Almeida
Bantamweight: Rodrigo Almeida vs. Ben Pierre-Saint
Lightweight: Marcus Surin vs. Christian Torres