Lashley Nixed from Titan FC 19; French-Krause Now Headlines

Bobby Lashley is off next Friday’s Titan Fighting Championship 19. | Photo: Dave Mandel

“Unfortunately, with the things going on in Bobby’s life right now, it was not the right time to have him fight,” Titan FC CEO Joe Kelly stated in a release.

No further explanation was given for Lashley’s withdrawal. Kelly stated that the 35-year-old heavyweight will return on Aug. 26 in the main event of Titan Fighting Championship 20.

Next Friday’s card, which airs live on HDNet from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., will now be headlined by a 160-pound catchweight contest between Missourian James Krause and former King of the Cage lightweight champ Clay French.

Krause, 25, comes off a 41-second March knockout of Nathan Schut at Titan FC 17, while 30-year-old H.I.T. Squad product French has not competed since a September decision win over Billy Stamp.

Additionally, a 140-pound women’s matchup pitting 2004 Olympic medalist Sara McMann against EliteXC veteran Tonya Evinger will now fill the show’s co-main event slot.

The first American woman to win a silver medal in wrestling, McMann is 2-0 in her nascent MMA career and has finished both of her opponents in a combined 2:23. Evinger went 1-2 in 2010, a win over Adrienna Jenkins sandwiched between two submission losses to Alexis Davis.