Press Release – Kansas City, KS — The Titan Fighting Championship (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 (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.
Tickets for Titan Fighting Championship 17 are now on-sale at all local Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com (www.Ticketmaster.com), as well as the Memorial Hall box office.
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 www.TitanFighting.com; become a fan of Titan Fighting on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/titanfighting; or follow the promotion on Twitter @titanfighting.