Josh Burkman vs. Jon Fitch III booked for WSOF 11 co-headliner

Following the injury withdrawal of Jake Shields (29-7-1), Josh Burkman (27-10) has stepped in as a replacement to fight Jon Fitch (25-6-1) at WSOF 11.

Officials announced the fight, which serves as a rubber match for the welterweights, overnight.

WSOF 11 takes place July 5 and may potentially air on NBC. For now, a location and broadcast platform for the card have yet to be announced.

WSOF lightweight champ Justin Gaethje meets Nick Newell in the event’s headliner. Burkman and Fitch fight in the co-headliner.

Fitch and Burkman first fought at UFC Fight Night 4 in 2006, when Fitch earned a submission victory. However, Burkman got his revenge a year ago and upset Fitch when both fighters later signed with WSOF.

Burkman is now 6-1 in his past seven fights. The lone loss came in a title fight against Steve Carl back in October, but Burkman responded with a first-round knockout of Tyler Stinson in March.

Fitch, meanwhile, fights for the third time under the WSOF banner. The former UFC title challenger made his WSOF debut this past June 2013 but suffered the upset loss to Burkman. The longtime American Kickboxing Academy product bounced back with a hard-fought October win over Marcelo Alfaya and now fights for the first time in 2014.

The latest WSOF 11 card includes:

• Champ Justin Gaethje vs. Nick Newell – for lightweight title
• Josh Burkman vs. Jon Fitch
• Gesias Cavalcante vs. Melvin Guillard

For more on WSOF 11, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Josh Burkman)