The heavyweight title will be on the line in the main event of WSOF 31 on Friday night as Josh Copeland will challenge reigning champion Blagoy Ivanov for the title on the fight card coming from The Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
Copeland (12-3) won his WSOF debut in March as he defeated Mike Hayes by unanimous decision and he has won three of his four fights since exiting the UFC last year. When Copeland broke down his opponent on Sunday’s edition of “The MMA Report Podcast,” he explained that the major challenge that Ivanov brings to the cage for him is the fact that he is a southpaw fighter.
“For me, I would say the toughest thing is just him being a southpaw fighter,” Copeland stated on The MMA Report Podcast. “Definitely, most fighters are right handed and he is a left handed guy. That is all I have been working with is lefties for this camp. I have been working every day. Monday through Saturday with the guys coming in. Getting four to five rounds everyday. Just seeing the new angles and just get use to what works and doesn’t work on the lefties. For me, of course I want to stay away from the clinch especially with him being a black belt in judo and definitely don’t want to end up underneath on a guy like that. Pretty much like anybody at this level, we are all tough guys and it’s always a fight.”
Check out Copeland’s complete interview from Sunday’s edition of “The MMA Report Podcast” below and be sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes and Stitcher.