“Last year was a rough year. For various illnesses and injuries Robbie Lawler pulled out of three Icon events in 2007. It’s not fair to Icon Sport. Not fair to Kala Kolohe Hose who has been waiting nearly a year for his title shot. And, most importantly, it’s not fair to our fans.” T Jay Thompson talks regarding Lawler losing his Icon Sport belt.

Usually when a champion is stripped of their title what comes to mind is controversy and drugs, in this case it is simply a matter of an organization growing impatient with a champions ailments and series of title fight cancellations.

In the Blaisdell Arena at a press conference held in Honolulu on Saturday, Icon Sport President T. Jay Thompson announced that "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler has been officially stripped of his Icon Sport middleweight belt for "failing to adequately defend."

In a statement, Lawler said, “I’m disappointed and upset. But I understand why this happening. In 2007, I did well when I was healthy. I took out Trigg and then I beat Ninja. I accept the decision, but I promise everyone that I will return. And I will get my belt back.”

Ever since his departure from the octagon Robbie Lawler has been on a stellar rise in the MMA universe wrecking stars, taking out Joe Villasenor with a flying knee in PRIDE USA, defeating Frank Trigg for the Icon belt in issue and most recently Murilo Ninja Rua for the Strikeforce title. Despite his new belt collection, last year was tough for Lawler due to illness and injury. The big surprise here is that on March 15, the contender Kala Kolohe Hose will get his shot at the title, against former UFC and Pride veteran, the self proclaimed “NY Bad Ass” Phil Baroni. Hose recently upped his record in New Jersey, and has been waiting after a year of disappointments to fight Lawler for the belt.

The Strikeforce president revealed "We’ve been talking to Phil about fighting in Icon for nearly five years. His explosive fighting style is exactly what our fans want, and it perfectly matches the style of Kala Kolohe Hose."

Baroni, who had been rumored to be fighting in a new Japanese show, was in Hawaii for the announcement, “This is a long time coming. I’ve wanted to fight for Icon for years. A week ago, T. Jay called me up and made an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Regarding the local warrior “Kala is like a young version of me. I like him. It is too bad Lawler was afraid to fight him, but I’m not. On March 15, I’m going home with the Icon belt.”
Hose seemed overjoyed with the proceedings, “This is going to be fun. I think Phil is a tough guy. I think it’s going to be an exciting fight for all my fans out there and I know Phil is the kind of guy who’s not going to pull out at the last minute. This is going to be fun.” This was obviously in reference to Lawler’s late withdrawal from Hose’s title challenge.

For the Hawaiian this is his chance to make history and show fans if Phil Baroni is a thing of the past. In Baroni’s defense, he is always an exciting fighter who the fans love to hate now he can hang in Hawaii and steal the Icon title.