Arlovski Tabbed as Headliner for Aug. 27 ProElite Show in Hawaii

When ProElite makes its return in August, the onetime EliteXC parent company will do so with a former UFC heavyweight champion topping the bill.

According to a recent report from KHON2.com, Andrei Arlovski will headline ProElite’s Aug. 27 event at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, against an opponent to-be-named. The news comes from T. Jay Thompson, ProElite’s director of MMA operations and former Icon Sport promoter, who told the Hawaiian station that Arlovski (Pictured) has already signed a contract for the show.

Thompson would neither confirm nor deny reports that the company is also in negotiations with recently released “Ultimate Fighter” winner and native Hawaiian Kendall Grove. KHON2.com also reported that former University of Hawaii linebacker Jake Heun will face NCAA Division I wrestling champion Mark Ellis on the Aug. 27 card.

Additionally, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on June 30 that UFC veteran Drew McFedries is expected to meet Hawaiian vet Kala Hose, while Olympic wrestling convert Sara McMann will take on Raquel Pa’aluhi.

Arlovski, 32, has not won a bout since his lone appearance in EliteXC, an October 2008 knockout of current UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson. The Belarusian has since fallen on the hardest stretch of his career, a four-fight skid which includes first-round knockouts at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers, and a decision defeat against Antonio Silva. In February, the “Pitbull” was punched out of Strikeforce’s 2011 heavyweight grand prix by Sergei Kharitonov.

Aug. 27 will mark the first event from ProElite in nearly three years, as the company has remained quiet since the 2008 shuttering of EliteXC. The promotion was reportedly in the running to acquire Strikeforce in early 2011, but was eventually outbid by the UFC.