Robbie Lawler Stripped of ICON Sport Title; Baroni vs. Hose Signed for Title Fight

The Hawaii-based ICON Sport organization has stripped Robbie Lawler (16-4) of its middleweight belt, and the promotion has booked a Phil Baroni (10-8) vs. Kala Kolohe Hose (5-1) fight for the vacant title as part of its March 15 event.

ICON Sport made the announcement on Saturday, and representatives from Baroni’s and Hose’s camps confirmed the fight with MMAjunkie.com.

Lawler, who also holds EliteXC’s middleweight title, won the ICON Sport belt with a fourth-round TKO of Frank Trigg nearly a year ago. ICON Sport was recently acquired by ProElite, Inc., EliteXC’s parent company.

However, Lawler had to pull out of three ICON Sport events within the past 12 months for various health-related reasons. With Lawler unable to defend his title, ICON Sport President T. Jay Thompson was forced to intervene and strip him of the belt.

According to a report from The Fight Network, Lawler plans to return to ICON Sport — one of MMA’s longest-running fight promotions — in hopes of reclaiming the title sometime in the future. He said he understood the organization’s decision to strip him of the title.

Just yesterday EliteXC announced that Baroni, a former UFC and PRIDE fighter, had signed a non-exclusive, multi-year deal with the organization. The March 15 ICON Sport event will be co-promoted by EliteXC.

Hose, a popular Hawaiian fighter, missed his title shot when injuries forced Lawler out of the fight. Hose most recently scored an impressive first-round knockout of Frederic Belleton at last month’s “ShoXC” event in Atlantic City, N.J.

Lawler, a former UFC fighter, is currently training as part of Matt Hughes’ new fight team in Illinois.