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HONOLULU, Feb. 9 -- After months of setbacks and postponements due to injuries, Icon Sport middleweight champion Robbie Lawler (Pictures) was stripped of his title Saturday at a news conference held by the promotion at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
"We had a very rough year in '07," Icon President T.Jay Thompson said. "It's with great seriousness and lots of thought that Icon Sport has taken the unprecedented action of stripping Robbie Lawler (Pictures) of his Icon Sport world middleweight title."
Lawler, Sherdog.com's No. 5-ranked middleweight and a current EliteXC champion, was scheduled to defend his title against Waianae's Kala Kolohe Hose (Pictures) as far back as June of last year. However, Lawler suffered multiple injuries in training, his most recent being a torn bicep that forced him out of a fight in December.
The middleweight slugger was not at the news conference but made a statement via text message, according to Thompson: "I'm as disappointed as anybody with the injuries that have prevented me from fighting. I understand what Icon has to do, and I accept it. But I also look forward to earning the shot, getting healthy, and winning the title back and wearing the Icon belt around my waist where it belongs."
"We would have loved to find a way around this, but when you talk about fairness, we were left with no choice," said Thompson, who noted that Lawler could fight on the March 15 Icon Sport card if he is cleared by a doctor. "We've stripped Robbie Lawler (Pictures) of his world title; we haven't left Robbie Lawler (Pictures). Robbie Lawler (Pictures) is still an important part of the Icon family. In good times and bad times, we want to look out for our fighters."
Fighting for the newly vacated middleweight belt on March 15 will be Hose and Phil Baroni (Pictures).
"We had to bring in a fighter worthy of this belt," Thompson said. "We also had to bring in someone physically worthy, and I think someone that brings the honor and respect to the sport that belongs, and someone that really has the drive for greatness. Also, we want someone who's exciting that will push Kala Kolohe to his limit."
MMAWeekly.com had reported in January that Baroni (10-8) was set to fight Sanae Kikuta (Pictures) on March 5 for World Victory Road in Tokyo, this despite Baroni's agent Ken Pavia telling Sherdog.com that no agreement was in place to put the troubled middleweight in the ring.
A source close to the negotiation with the Japanese company told Sherdog.com that Baroni, who has completed a six-month suspension handed down by the California State Athletic Commission after a positive test for steroids last June, was struggling with a shoulder injury and his weight, and therefore could not make the March 5 date.
The announcement of his fight with Hose just 10 days after the WVR date would seem to contradict those assertions.
Said Baroni: "The champion, Robbie Lawler (Pictures), for whatever reason, didn't seem to want to fight this guy, and I heard about it. Nobody wanted to fight this guy. T.Jay called me, and he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. So, you know, you can see I'm here right now, and I'm going to take that belt home with me in March, for sure."
The confident 31-year-old New Yorker described Hose as a "a young Phil Baroni (Pictures)."
"He likes to get in there and mix it up, put his chin down and hands up and let ‘em fly," Baroni said. "I think he's got a lot of potential, but it's a big step up. I'm not Robbie Lawler (Pictures)."
The Hawaiian power puncher was also excited at the prospect of meeting one of the division's most notorious fighters.
"I give big respect to Phil," said Hose, 5-1. "One tough guy, one big striker. I love it."
Also announced was the signing of talented 135-pound fighter Mark Oshiro (Pictures) to a six-figure deal with EliteXC, ShoXC and Icon Sport. Oshiro will fulfill the first of six fights against undefeated Chris Cariaso (Pictures) live on Showtime's March 21 ShoXC event at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif.
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