WSOF signs Jon Jones' teammate Phil Hawes, adds him to 'Ivanov vs Copeland' card on June 17

World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 31: "Ivanov vs. Copeland" takes place June 17, 2016, at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. The main event on NBC Sports is Blagoy Ivanov (13-1) defending his heavyweight title versus Josh "Cuddly Bear" Copeland (13-1).

Having just announced a full set of preliminary matches that seemed to complete the card for June 17, WSOF surprised everyone with the announcement that middleweight fighter Phil Hawes (3-0) signed with the promotion and would fight Joshua Key (6-11, 2 NC).

Hawes has something in common with Jon "Bones" Jones: they both wrestled for Iowa Central Community College before starting their pro MMA careers. They now train together at Jackson-Winklejohn in Albuquerque, N.M., where Jones said Hawes has "limitless" potential.

"Phil is one of the most exciting, young prospects in the sport of MMA, so we are excited to welcome him to the World Series of Fighting family, and we look forward to seeing how his career develops under our promotion," said WSOF President Ray Sefo.

The updated WSOF 31 "Ivanov vs. Copeland" card is below.

WSOF 31 Main Card (NBC Sports):

Heavyweight: Blagoy Ivanov (c) vs. Josh Copeland
Lightweight: Jason High vs. Mike Ricci
Featherweight: Luis Palomino vs. Sheymon Moraes
Welterweight: John Howard vs. Thiago Meller
Middleweight: Phil Hawes vs. Joshua Key

WSOF 31 Preliminary Card (WSOF.com):

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

Less than a month to go!

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