· Titan FC Comes To HDNet On March 25, Lashley vs. Ott Headlines

· Article author: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Posted on 03/17 at 07:01 AM

On March 25, Titan Fighting Championship airs Titan FC 17 with former wrestling superstar Bobby Lashley headlining against John Ott. Also featured on the card is former Strikeforce and UFC fighter Phil Baroni in a welterweight matchup against Nick Nolte. The event will broadcast live on Mark Cuban's HDNet, the home of mixed martial arts and K-1 tournament action.

Lashley has not competed in mixed martial arts since August 2010 when he lost the first fight of his career against Chad Griffs under the Strikeforce banner. He looks to rebound from the loss against John Ott. Ott normally fights at middleweight but is expected to tip the scales north of 225 for the event. At 9-7, Ott is also an amateur bodybuilder.

Lashley had originally been scheduled to face Kansas City-based heavyweight James Jack (6-2). Jack withdrew from the bout without notifying the organization.

"We had an agreement with Jack to fight Lashley but he's essentially gone MIA. James missed several scheduled media shoots and no longer was returning our calls," said Titan FC CEO Joe Kelly. "It became abundantly clear that James had no intention of showing up to fight Bobby on March 25, so we had to make a change."

In the co-main event of the evening, former "The Ultimate Fighter" competitor Abe Wagner battles Aaron Rosa. Wagner last competed in January, knocking out former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in just one round.

Rosa is currently riding a three fight win streak, and has won five of his last six fights. His lone loss came from recently-dethroned Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael "Feijao" Calvancante. His impressive (15-3) record could bring some big name suitors calling if he can get past Wagner.

Once considered a title contender, Phil Baroni has fallen on hard times lately with a three-fight losing streak that cost him his roster spot with the UFC. Just 5-8 in his last 13 fights, rounding out his record at 13-13, Baroni looks to keep from falling below .500 as he fights Nick Nolte (3-2).