By Dann Stupp, MMAjunkie.com Feb 13, 6:08 pm EST Buzz up!

Boxing great Roy Jones Jr. is returning to the ring for a March 21 hybrid boxing/MMA event that features many notables, including a bevy of UFC veterans. 

"March Badness," promoted by Jones' Square Ring Promotions in association with Hirsch Borao Boxing, takes place at the Pensacola Civic Center in Florida and airs on pay per view. 

Earning headliner status for the MMA portion of the event is Seth Petruzelli, who famously knocked out former EliteXC poster boy Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson in just 14 seconds at five months ago at "EliteXC: Heat." 

Petruzelli (10-4), who took the fight on just a few hours' notice when Ken Shamrock was pulled from the card, fights for the first time since the October event. He'll take on former WEC light-heavyweight champion Doug "Rhino" Marshall (9-3). 

Also scheduled for the event is former WWE star and three-time NCAA wrestling champion Bobby Lashley (1-0), who's on loan from the American Fight League. The Army vet made his professional debut in December and posted a 41-second TKO victory. His opponent for the March 21 event has not been announced. 

In other action, former top UFC heavyweight contender Jeff Monson (27-8), who's 4-1 in his past five fights, takes on IFL heavyweight champion Roy "Big Country" Nelson (13-3), who's five-fight win streak was snapped by Andrei Arlovski during EliteXC's October "Heat" event. 

MMAjunkie.com has learned that former UFC lightweight and "The Ultimate Fighter 4" cast member Din Thomas, who made his successful featherweight debut during a Feb. 7 show in Missouri, is also in negotiations to appear on the MMA portion of the card. 

On the boxing portion of the card, Jones (52-5), an eight-time world champion and former Olympian, takes on Omar Sheika (27-8) in a light-heavyweight contest. 

While most of the industry has shunned MMA, Jones has been one of few from the boxing world to heap praise on MMA and its fighters. He and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva even campaigned for a boxing fight last year before UFC officials stepped in and nixed the plans. 

Tickets for "March Badness," which range from $28 to $128, are currently on sale through Ticketmaster.com.

(Pictured: Seth Petruzelli)

Check out more UFC News at MMAjunkie.com. This story originally appeared on MMAjunkie.com and is syndicated on Yahoo! Sports as part of a content-partnership deal between the two sites.

By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com

Roy Jones Jr. has always been closely associated with his beloved hometown of Pensacola, Fla., but he hasn't fought there in 10 years. That's about to change.

Jones, the all-time great former champion in four divisions who turned 40 last Friday, will face Omar Sheika at the Pensacola Civic Center on March 21 in a light heavyweight fight, John Wirt, CEO of Jones promotional company Square Ring, told ESPN.com Monday, confirming a report last week on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."

"We've done a deal with Sheika," Wirt said. "I think it's a great fight for Roy and we're excited to be able to do it in his hometown. I know Roy is excited to bring a quality event to Pensacola."

Although Jones (52-5, 38 KOs) lost a lopsided decision to champion Joe Calzaghe in New York on Nov. 8, he has no intention of retiring just yet, Wirt said.

"Roy hasn't fought in Pensacola since 1999 and he really wanted to bring a fight home to his fans," Wirt said.

In a twist, Wirt said the pay-per-view card would include mixed martial arts bouts along with boxing matches.

"We're working on that right now," Wirt said. "By combining Roy's boxing match and other boxing matches with MMA fights, we are planning on drawing from both boxing and MMA fan bases. We believe that the demographics of boxing and MMA are distinct, so we are trying to introduce boxing fans to MMA and MMA fans to boxing. That's the business model."

Boxing matches and MMA bouts have appeared together on shows from time to time, but not at the top level of either sport or on a pay-per-view basis.

Roy has been recently featured on Fight.TV with this video.