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The Titan Fighting Championship (http://www.TitanFighting.com) announced today that UFC, PRIDE, and Strikeforce veteran Phil "The New York Bad Ass" Baroni will make his debut for the promotion on Friday, March 25 in Kansas City.

Baroni, 13-13, will face Bellator Fighting Championships and Strikeforce Challengers veteran Nick Nolte, 3-2, in a bout to be contested at 185 lbs. that will emanate from the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas and televised live nationally on HDNet (http://www.HD.net).

"The first leg of Phil's comeback tour will begin March 25 live on HDNet vs. a very game competitor in Nick Nolte. Phil is going to get an opportunity to work his way back to where he wants to be and Nick is going to get an opportunity to make himself a nationally known commodity overnight live on HDNet," said Titan Fighting CEO Joe Kelly.

"This is a very important fight for me and my preparation has already begun," added Baroni. "I cannot afford to be anything but my best. Nolte is a very game opponent and has to see this as an opportunity to get a big win. I'll do whatever it takes not to let that happen and I look forward to putting on a show in Kansas City and winning over the fans with my exciting fighting style. I plan on setting up shop in Titan and that means taking Nolte's ass out in KO fashion."

Considered one of the most exciting and charismatic fighters in the sport, Baroni has been competing since the year 2000 and has recorded notable wins in his career over the likes of Ikuhisha "Minowaman" Minoawa, Yuki Kondo, Amar Suloev, Ryo Chonan, and Kansas City MMA legend Curtis Stout.

In addition to his notable wins competing for promotions such as PRIDE and the UFC, Baroni was involved in a historic feud with Frank "The Legend" Shamrock in a pay-per-view event that attracted one of the largest non-UFC PPV audiences in MMA history. He also competed on the first-ever MMA event broadcast on prime-time network television when he fought Joey Villasenor during EliteXC's "Primetime" card on CBS in May of 2008.

One of the most popular fighters in the Kansas City area, Nolte made his professional debut in January of 2009 after compiling a 7-3 record as an amateur. Since going pro, he has earned opportunities to compete for both Bellator and Strikeforce. During the undercard of Strikeforce's November of 2009 stop at Memorial Hall, Nolte was victorious in front of his hometown faithful, submitting Andy Waters with a triangle choke at 3:35 of round 1.

Last April, Nolte competed on the undercard of Bellator Fighting Championships 16 at the Power & Light District in Kansas City, MO, submitting to a choke by Strikeforce and Bellator veteran Drew Dober at 4:45 of round 1. However, Nolte rebounded this past November at Cage Fight for a Cause, recording an impressive rear naked choke submission victory over Lee Werr at 4:47 of round 2.

Former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Bobby Lashley has signed to headline Titan Fighting Championship 17 (http://www.TitanFighting.com), set for Friday, March 25 at the Historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.

Titan Fighting CEO Joe Kelly made the news official late Thursday night.

Lashley will be competing for the first time since a Strikeforce event on August 21, 2010. His return to the cage on March 25 will come against M-1 Challenge veteran James Jack, who is 6-2-1 (according to MixedMartialArts.com).

Titan Fighting Championship 17 will be televised live nationally on HDNet (http://www.HDNet.com) for the second consecutive show and the Lashley vs. Jack main event joins the previously announced bout between Phil Baroni and Nick Nolte as the first two contests officially announced for the telecast.

"We received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from the MMA community following our HDNet debut on January 28," Kelly began. "A lot of unique opportunities have presented themselves to Titan since the show and working with Bobby Lashley was one of them. We are really excited to be working with Bobby as he continues his pursuit of MMA greatness."

Lashley's March 25 main event bout vs. Jack will mark the first time he has competed in a mixed martial arts bout near his original home. Currently fighting out of Denver, Colorado, Lashley was born in Junction City, Kansas, where his parents still reside. He also attended Missouri Valley College, where he would go on to claim three national college amateur wrestling championships.

"There's a group of regular Titan fans that I communicate with on a regular basis. They serve as a focus group for the promotion, as I bounce ideas off of them and gauge their reaction. When I floated the idea of Bobby fighting on the card, the response was incredible," said Kelly.

After college, Lashley joined the Army, where he continued to wrestle and even began to pursue a spot on the U.S. Olympic team until a knee injury sustained during a bank robbery while present at the bank as an innocent bystander ended his dreams of Olympic gold.

A two-time ECW world champion and former U.S. champion during his professional wrestling career with the WWE, Lashley began his MMA career with a successful 5-0 record. He was dealt a setback in his last fight when he suffered a second round upset defeat to Chad Griggs in Houston.

"In the fight game, a fighter is usually viewed as only being good as their last fight. But I don't think that is a fair way to evaluate a fighter, especially an athletically-gifted heavyweight who is only six fights into his career," Kelly stated. "Bobby won't admit it and he refuses to make excuses but the reality is that he was diagnosed with mononucleosis shortly after the fight. Also, if anyone watched Griggs' fight last weekend against Gian Villante, who was widely considered one of the top prospects in MMA coming into that fight, you can clearly see that Griggs is the real deal. Anyone who is writing Bobby off is making a huge mistake. I believe that Titan Fighting will be the perfect platform for Bobby to prove his critics wrong."

While Lashley enter the March 25 as the favorite, Jack will look to follow in Abe Wagner's footsteps and look to pull off a main event upset for the second consecutive Titan show in a row. A veteran of Blue Springs, Missouri, Jack began his MMA career in 2006, first competing as an amateur. After going 4-0 on the amateur circuit, he would later go on to become a two-time veteran of the M-1 Challenge fight circuit.

Tickets for Titan Fighting Championship 17 are now on-sale at all local Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com (http://www.Ticketmaster.com), as well as the Memorial Hall box office. Tickets for the event start at $25.

Additional matchups for Titan Fighting Championship 17 will be announced in the coming days. In order to stay updated with all of the latest news pertaining to Titan Fighting, please visit http://www.TitanFighting.com; become a fan of Titan Fighting on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/titanfighting; or follow the promotion on Twitter @titanfighting.

HEAVYWEIGHT TILT BETWEEN ABE WAGNER AND AARON ROSA SIGNED FOR TITAN FC 17 ON MARCH 25, LIVE ON HDNET


Kansas City, KS -- A heavyweight tilt between Abe Wagner and Aaron Rosa is the latest matchup to be confirmed for Titan Fighting Championship 17 (http://www.TitanFighting.com), scheduled to take place on Friday, March 25 and to be televised live on HDNet (http://www.HD.net).

"Both Abe and Aaron like to stand in the pocket and trade," said Titan Fighting CEO Joe Kelly. "Fans attending the fight at Memorial Hall and viewers watching at home on HDNet will have a lot to look forward to when it comes to Titan Fighting Championship 17. However, Wagner vs. Rosa is the matchup to watch because it has all the hallmarks of an epic slugfest."

Up until Titan Fighting Championship 16 this past January 28, Wagner had been best known for his appearance on the tenth installment of the hit Spike TV reality series, The Ultimate Fighter. However, he became an overnight YouTube sensation following his upset first round TKO victory against former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim "The Maineiac" Sylvia.

The win over Sylvia has recorded close to 800,000 hits on YouTube and now has Wagner being scouted by all of the top major MMA organizations. With the win, the former NCAA All-American in football improved his record to 8-3 with five of his victories coming via TKO.

"I think the win over Sylvia was huge for me," said the Omaha native. "It's one thing to win when nobody thinks you will; it's another to win when nobody thinks you can. I'm just going to carry this momentum forward into my next fight. Aaron Rosa is a very skilled and respected fighter and I'm eager to test my skills against his."

Rosa is one of the most respected free agent light heavyweight fighters not currently signed to a long-term contract. A well-traveled veteran, Rosa has fought for EliteXC, Strikeforce, and the Bellator Fighting Championships.

The matchup vs. Wagner creates an interesting dynamic in that both Rosa and Sylvia are managed by Monte Cox. A regular training partner to former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, Rosa is 15-3 overall in his career and holds notable victories over Anthony Ruiz, Robert Villegas, and Ron Fields. On March 25, Rosa will be looking to enact a measure of revenge on behalf of his management stablemate, Sylvia.

"It's a big fight for me," proclaimed Rosa. "I want to take his hype that he got when he beat Tim."

Titan Fighting Championship 17 will emanate live from the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. In addition to Wagner vs. Rosa, the event will also feature the Titan Fighting debuts of ex-WWE superstar Bobby Lashley and former UFC star Phil Baroni. Tickets for the event are now on-sale at all local Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com (http://www.Ticketmaster.com), as well as the Memorial Hall box office. Tickets start at just $25.

Additional matchups for Titan Fighting Championship 17 will be announced in the coming days. In order to stay updated with all of the latest news pertaining to Titan Fighting, please visit http://www.TitanFighting.com; become a fan of Titan Fighting on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/titanfighting; or follow the promotion on Twitter @titanfighting.