LAS VEGAS (Aug. 14, 2013) – The man who was victorious in the featured bout of World Series of Fighting’s very first event will return once again to headline for the promotion.
Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski (20-10) will compete in the main event of next month’s World Series of Fighting 5 against slugger Mike “MAK” Kyle (20-9-1) in a heavyweight bout on Saturday, Sept. 14 at New Jersey’s Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. Arlovski is a replacement for the injured Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
The live, two-and-a-half-hour NBC Sports Network telecast of the World Series of Fighting 5 main card begins at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT. The night’s preliminary bouts stream live on World Series of Fighting’s official website, WSOF.com, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
Tickets for the fight card, which start at just $29, are currently on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, Ticketmaster.com and charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000.
Arlovski, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder, hails from Belarus and currently resides in Chicago. The 34-year-old knockout artist made his World Series of Fighting debut this past November, when he earned a first-round TKO victory over Devin Cole. He returned to the promotion in March, when he suffered a hard-fought, unanimous-decision loss to “Rumble” Johnson. The result snapped a five-fight win streak for Arlovski, who remains one of the most popular figures in mixed martial arts.
Meanwhile, Kyle is a 12-year veteran of the sport who hails from one of MMA’s most-respected fight camps, American Kickboxing Academy. A resident of San Jose, Calif., Kyle is no stranger to the spotlight and has stepped in the cage against a who’s who of MMA’s top fighters in two weight classes, including Paul Buentello, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, James Irvin, Gegard Mousasi, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Krzysztof Soszynski and Fabricio Werdum, among others.
Kyle fought most recently on May 24, when he needed just 21 seconds to score a knockout win over 86-fight veteran Travis “Diesel” Wiuff.
World Series of Fighting 5 features a five-fight main card in addition to a full lineup of preliminary contests. Middleweight tournament opening-round matchups of Dave Branch (12-3) vs. Danillo Villefort (14-4) and Elvis Mutapcic (13-2) vs. Jesse Taylor (26-9) have been booked, and additional bouts will be announced soon.
The nationally televised event, which airs live on NBC Sports Network, marks the promotion’s second visit to the world-class venue.
“After a very successful first event with the promotion this past March, We are very excited to welcome back the World Series of Fighting on NBC Sports Network to Revel Casino Hotel,” said Entertainment Consultant Bernie Dillon. “We are looking forward to another great night of fights.”
Offered WSOF President Ray Sefo, “We’re very happy to be headed back to Revel. They treated us so well during our first event and we had a great showing from the fans out there. The people at the hotel and venue are first-class and we look forward to a successful event on Sept. 14 and many more in the future.”
