Sid Wheeler vs. Justin Fisher and Jesse Grun vs. Felipe Portela headline Valor Fights 31

Valor Fights 31 is shaping up to be a mega-event, as the organization returns to Chattanooga in February for a double main event featuring two pro title fights.

Middleweight champion Sid Wheeler (3-0) will make the first defense of his title, as the 19-year-old faces Justin Fisher in a 185-pound bout.

Wheeler broke onto the scene in 2015, as he put on three fight of the night performances in three bouts, including winning the middleweight title with a decision over Julio Gallegos at Valor Fights 28 in October. Wheeler could be an even bigger breakout star in 2016, as he already has lined up a fight for Legacy FC on AXS TV fights in April following his bout against Fisher.

Knoxville MMA’s Fisher is a teammate of UFC light heavyweight Ovince St. Preux, and he looks to rebound from a loss to Gallegos at Valor Fights 23 in June. Fisher has headlined three of Valor’s four all-pro cards and looks to derail the Wheeler hype train.

At welterweight, Jesse Grun (3-1) will battle the Blackzilians’ Felipe Portela (6-2) for the vacant 170-pound title.

A member of the MMA Institute, Grun hails from Chattanooga and will have the hometown crowd in his favor. After coming up short against Wheeler at Valor Fights 21, Grun reeled off back-to-back submission wins over Judd Brown and Justin Hartley to close out 2015.

Portela was a member of The Blackzilians’ team on “The Ultimate Fighter” and is a Strikeforce and Titan FC veteran.

The organization has also announced that the event has been pushed back a day and will now take place on Saturday, February 27 at the Chattanooga Sports Complex.

Stay tuned to BluegrassMMA for more on Valor Fights 31.

Valor Fights 31 card

Pro Bouts:
Champ Sid Wheeler vs. Justin Fisher – for middleweight title
Jesse Grun vs. Felipe Portela – for welterweight title
Ace Samples vs. TC Coleman
Doug Usher vs. Chris Barnhizer

Amateur Bouts:
Champ Damir Ferhatbegovic vs. Kit Ruddock – for lightweight title
Annie Descrecente vs. Hannah Fitzpatrick
Jill Myers vs. Brandy Moore
Greg Hopkins vs. Matthew Parrish
Casey Peel vs. David Robins
David Mang vs. Ryan McVay
Billy Swanson vs. Jimmy Dean
James Garmany vs. John Allen
Lee Poke vs. Michael Nabors

*subject to change