Blagoy Ivanov vs. Josh Copeland, Jason High vs. Mike Ricci set for WSOF 31

A heavyweight title fight between Blagoy Ivanov (13-1) and Josh Copeland (12-3) is set to headline WSOF 31. Additionally, a lightweight bout between Jason High (19-5) and Mike Ricci (11-4) will serve as the co-main event of the card. The news was announced by the promotion on Tuesday.

Ivanov, who captured the WSOF heavyweight gold back in June 2015 against Smealinho Rama, will be defending his belt for a second time in this fight with Copeland. The 29-year-old Bulgarian fighter last competed on October 2015 at WSOF 24 where he defeated Derrick Mehmen via second-round TKO.

His opponent, Josh Copeland, is currently 3-1 in his past four fights. 'Cuddly Bear' is coming off a unanimous decision win over Mike Hayes earlier this year at WSOF 29. Prior to that, the 33-year-old heavyweight suffered a submission loss to Vitaly Minakov in Russia.

Meanwhile, in the co-main event of the card, High and Ricci will be battling for the No. 1 contender spot.

High last competed at WSOF 25 in October 2015 where he successfully made his WSOF debut by knocking out Estevan Payan. Before joining WSOF, High had a 2-2 run in the UFC losing to Erick Silva and current UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.

Like High, Ricci also made his WSOF debut at WSOF 25 knocking out his opponent Joe Condon in the first round. The 30-year-old Canadian fighter is 3-0 since his UFC release back in 2013. This run includes victories over notable fighters such as Jorge Gurgel and George Sotiropoulos.

WSOF 31 is scheduled to take place Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. on June 17.