Las Vegas (June 15, 2016) -World Series ea Fighting (WSOF.com) phatlalalitse kajeno hore Thiago Meller has withdrawn from his scheduled welterweight (170 lik'hilograma tse) Tlholisanong khahlanong le John “Doomsday” Howard (23-12), ke mang ea tla hona joale tobana le“Mad” Mike Arrant (15-10) in a middleweight (185 lik'hilograma tse) bout at the much-anticipated WSOF31: Ivanov vs. Copeland world championship doubleheader Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) ketsahalo, phela ka ho NBCSN (9 p.m. LE/6 p.m. PT) ho tloha Foxwoods Resort Casino a Mashantucket, Conn. ka Labohlano, June 17.

Holim'a moo, Krrish Marcus Surin (3-0) of Stamford, Conn. has been tabbed to step in for Sam Watford ka ho lokiselitsoe bobebe (155 lik'hilograma tse) preliminary card contest against Christian “The Terminator” Torres (0-0) of Endicott, N.Y..

Originally hailing from Orlando, Fla., ea 5-mithara 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 kapa ho ikokobelletsa. Ho fihla joale, 12 ea hae 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) ea Carl Dieckmann ka July 12, 2013.

Like Arrant, the 5-foot-7, 33-year-old Howard boasts a phenomenal finish rate with 15 ea hae 23 professional victories having come by way of (T)KO kapa ho ikokobelletsa.

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 Uria Hall, Siyar Bahadurzada le Cathal Pendred.

Turu ho $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. LE, and the first of seven preliminary card bouts will begin at 5:45 p.m.

Eohle e selelekela ntoa karete tla phallela ho phela ka e embeddable sebapala video ka WSOF.com.

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

Ka bobebe sebedisana ka sehloohong ketsahalo, superstars Jason "The Kansas City Bandit" Phahameng ka ho (19-5) le Mike "The Martian" Ricci (11-4) will square off with their division’s number one contender ranking at stake.

WSOF31: IVANOV VS. COPELAND

SEHLOOHO KARETE (Phela ka ho NBCSN)

World Series of Fighting Heavyweight Championship Main Event:
Blagoy Ivanov (Mampoli) vs.. Josh Copeland (Challenger)

Bobebe Co-Main Event:
Jason Phahameng ka ho vs.. Mike Ricci

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

PRELIMINARY KARETE (Phela ka ho WSOF.com)

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