Haselrig Returns to Cage at ROC 26

Carlton Haselrig, a one-time all-pro with the Pittsburgh Steelers, will toe the line against Gian Villante in a heavyweight bout at Ring of Combat 26 on Friday at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

The only man to win six national wrestling championships in college (he won three each at the Div. I and Div. II levels), Haselrig last competed at an Ultimate Cage Fighting Challenge show in June. There, he succumbed to first-round strikes against Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Sean Jordan. Haselrig, a Johnstown, Pa., native who will turn 44 in January, has never gone the distance in five professional bouts.

Villante, meanwhile, remains unbeaten through three fights. A former linebacker at Hofstra University, he stopped Joe Abouata -- the first man to defeat Haselrig -- on first-round strikes at Ring of Combat 25 in June. Based out of the Bellmore Kickboxing and MMA Academy in Bellmore, N.Y., Villante has finished all three of his opponents inside one round.

Three championship fights will headline Ring of Combat 26, as Victor O’Donell squares off with Costa Phillippou for the middleweight title, Rich Lictawa locks horns with Ricardo Romero for the heavyweight crown and UFC veteran Chris Liguori collides with Dwayne Shelton for the lightweight belt.

Victor O’Donnell vs. Costa Phillippou

Rich Lictawa vs. Ricardo Romero

Chris Liguori vs. Dwayne Shelton

Louis Gaudinot vs. Jeff Cressman
Lester Caslow vs. Matthew McManmon
Carlton Haselrig vs. Gian Villante
Ryan LaFlare vs. Jose Sulsona
Ed Guedes vs. John Salgado
Carlos Brooks vs. Lorenzo Hood
Jose Villanueva vs. Sean Santella
Rafael Natal vs. Allan Weickert
Nabih Barakat vs. Chris Schlesinger
Andy Main vs. Jackson Galka
Liam Kerrigan vs. Roger Mamedov