Jon Fitch-Josh Burkman Rubber Match Booked for July’s WSOF 11

Josh Burkman will square off with Jon Fitch for a third time at WSOF 11. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

WSOF officials announced the booking Thursday night, revealing that Burkman will step in for an injured Jake Shields at the event. The evening’s main draw airs live on NBC Sports Network and is headlined by a lightweight title confrontation between Justin Gaethje and Nick Newell.

Fitch and Burkman first met under the UFC banner back in 2006, with Fitch submitting “The People’s Warrior” in the second round. The welterweights would not clash again until last June, when Burkman put Fitch to sleep in a guillotine choke to even the score at WSOF 3.

Fitch rebounded from the loss in his last outing, scoring a split verdict over Marcelo Alfaya at WSOF 6. Burkman, meanwhile, came up short in his bid to capture the inaugural WSOF welterweight belt but bounced back with a first-round knockout of Tyler Stinson on March 29.