LeVesseur Featured On FX Prelims Tonight!

UFC on FOX 5

FOX TV fights (7 PM):

• UFC Lightweight title: Nate Diaz (16-7) vs Benson Henderson (17-2)
• Alexander Gustafsson (14-1) vs Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (21-6)
• Rory MacDonald (13-1) vs BJ Penn (16-8-2)
• Matt Brown (15-11) vs Mike Swick (15-4)

FX fights (4 PM):

• Jeremy Stephens (20-8) vs Yves Edwards (41-18-1)
• Mike Easton (13-1) vs Raphael Assuncao (18-4)
• Joe Proctor (8-1) vs Ramsey Nijem (6-2)
• Henry Martinez (9-2) vs Daron Cruickshank (11-2)
• Abel Trujillo (9-4) vs Marcus LeVesseur (22-6)
• Nam Phan (18-10) vs Dennis Siver (20-8)

Online fight (3:20 PM):

• John Albert (7-3) vs Scott Jorgensen (13-6)

NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Quick Results

Division III
Consolation: Concordia (Moorhead) 22, St. John's 13
Semifinal: Augsburg 22, Coe 14
7th Place: Cornell College 25, St. John's 20
5th Place: UW-LaCrosse 36, Concordia (Moorhead) 6
Championship: Augsburg 18, Wartburg 15

Division II
Semifinal: UW-Parkside 19, St. Cloud State 14
Consolation: Nebraska-Omaha 31, MSU-Mankato 5
7th Place: St. Cloud State 19, Augustana 18
3rd Place: MSU-Mankato 36, Gannon 10
Division I
Semifinal: Iowa 28, Minnesota 12
3rd Place: Ohio State 26, Minnesota 12
Championship: Iowa 19, Iowa State 12

Follow my Twitter feed for live coverage of the Minnesota-Iowa match.

Minnesota, Minnesota State, Augsburg all advance at National Duals

The 2010 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals began today with some of the top collegiate wrestling programs in the country competing.  Six schools from Minnesota are competing in three different divisions to see who the top wrestling team will be.

The University of Minnesota, currently ranked #6 in the NWCA/USA Today national poll, were seeded fifth in the Division 1 bracket.  The Gophers opened the day against #17 ranked Missouri and advanced to the second round with a 25-14 victory.

Minnesota then faced #5 ranked Central Michigan, the fourth seed in the tournament.  A dominating 25-9 win propelled the Gophers to the semifinals, where they will face their Big 10 Conference rival Iowa on Sunday at 11 AM.  Iowa is ranked #1 in the nation and is the tournament top seed.

Two NCAA Division II schools are competing and did well on Saturday.  Minnesota State-Mankato, ranked #11 in the most current NWCA poll, pulled off an upset in the first round and advanced to the semifinals.  The Mavericks opened the day with a 23-16 upset of the fifth seed Western (CO) State.  Western State was ranked #7 in the national poll.  A quarterfinal matchup against West Liberty (WV) University saw MSU coast to a 27-8 victory.  The Mavericks will face top seed University of Nebraska-Omaha on Sunday at 11 AM.

St. Cloud State, ranked #9 nationally, defeated San Francisco State 22-10 in their opening match, but fell to Nebraska-Omaha 27-12 in the quarterfinals.  The Huskies defeated #14 ranked Fort Hays State 17-13 in the consolation bracket.

Three MIAC teams are competing in the Division III bracket.  Augsburg, Concordia (Moorhead), and St. John's had mixed results on the first day, but the Auggies will be featured in the semifinals again on Sunday.

Ranked #2 in the NCWA Division III national poll, Augsburg defeated UW-Whitewater 32-6 and North Central (IL) 25-12 to advance in the tournament.  They will face Coe (IA) College, the #3 ranked team in the country.  Coe defeated #9 randed Concordia in the quarterfinals.

St. John's lost their opening match against Delaware Valley 22-15, but advanced through the consolation bracket by defeating Dubuque 19-18.  The Johnnies advanced over North Central after a 15-15 score was decided by near-fall points.

Local results:
Minnesota 25, Missouri 14
Minnesota 26, Central Michigan 9
Minnesota State-Mankato 23, Western State 16
Minnesota State-Mankato 27, West Liberty 8
St. Cloud State 22, San Francisco State 10
Nebraska-Omaha 27, St. Cloud State 12
St. Cloud State 23, Fort Hays State 13
Augsburg 23, UW-Whitewater 6
Augsburg 25, North Central 12
Concordia 24, Cornell College 10
Coe 33, Concordia 6
Concordia 30, Johnson & Wales 13
Delaware Valley 22, St. John's 15
St. John's 19, Dubuque 8
St. John's 15, North Central (St. John's advances on near fall points)
Sunday schedule:
D1: Minnesota vs. Iowa, 11 AM
D2: St. Cloud State vs. Wisconsin-Parkside, 9 AM
D2: Minnesota State-Mankato vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 11 AM
D3: Concordia vs. St. John's, 9 AM
D3: Augsburg vs. Coe, 11 AM

LeVesseur loses in Fresno

Marcus LeVesseur lost his fight in California tonight to PFC Lightweight Champion Brian Cobb. Cobb took LeVesseur to the mat early in the second round and eventually took his back and won by submission guillitine choke at 2:44.

LeVessuer to face PFC champ Cobb

Former Augsburg College wrestler Marcus LeVessuer will be fighting on Saturday in California at the War Gods 3 MMA event. LeVessuer (9-2) will face current Palace Fighting Championship lightweight champion Brian Cobb (13-4) in the co-main event which will be broadcast live on http://www.sherdog.com. The free stream will begin at 8:30 PM.

LeVessuer last fought in Fresno at War Gods 1 on July 26, 2008. He was victorious over Ismael Gonzalez by 2nd round submission.

Minnesota veteran B.J. Lacy will also fight on the undercard.

For more information go to: http://wargods.tv

UFC 87 countdown

UFC 87 will be held on Saturday, August 9 at Target Center in Minneapolis. For the next six days I will highlight a bio of the six headline fighters.

Today's fighter is:

Fighter: Roger Huerta
Nickname: El Matador
Record: 20-1-1 (10 KO; 4 subs.)
Hometown: Austin, TX
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 155 lbs. (lightweight)

Minnesota connection: Huerta attended Augsburg College in Minneapolis and was on the wrestling team in 2002-03. Huerta was in the same weight class as 4-time NCAA Champion Marcus LeVesseur, who finished his Augsburg career with a record of 155-0.

RevWrestling article on former Augsburg wrestlers

Two former Augsburg wrestlers featured on fight card
5/16/2008
Andrew Hipps, Senior Writer
andrew@revwrestling.com


On Saturday night, Minnesota-based Seconds Out Promotions will be putting on its second combined mixed martial arts (MMA) and boxing event. The event, called "Uncaged," will take place at the St. Paul Armory in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is set to get underway at 7 p.m.

The first combined MMA and boxing event put on by Seconds Out Promotions ("Evolution") took place on March 29 at the Myth Nightclub in Maplewood, Minnesota. The event drew around 1,300 fans. Seconds Out Promotions President Tony Grygelko expects around 2,000 or more fans for "Uncaged" on Saturday night.

"I think the format makes a lot of sense," said Grygelko, a former professional boxer who wrestled collegiately at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. "It was kind of experimental for us, but our first event was extremely successful. The biggest thing is that the fans seemed to really enjoy it. It should be another great night of fights."

"Uncaged" will feature three MMA fights and four boxing fights. Two former Augsburg wrestlers, Marcus LeVesseur and Rich Taylor, will be showcased in MMA fights. Some of Minnesota's top boxers will also be on the card, including Caleb Truax and Matt Vanda.

Marcus LeVesseur, who was a four-time undefeated NCAA Division III champion wrestler for Augsburg, will face Chaylen Raider, an MMA veteran with a 30-12 record. The 25-year-old LeVesseur, who carries a record of 12-1, is a rising star in MMA. He is coming off a dominating victory over Jessi Evans in Fargo, North Dakota on April 26. To see highlights from that fight, click HERE.

Rich Taylor, who is the reigning Brutaal champion at 145 pounds, will take on Bryant Clark, a fighter LeVesseur defeated on March 29.

"I feel very confident going into my fight on Saturday," said Taylor, who was a member of Augsburg's 2005 national championship wrestling team. "My game plan is to keep it standing, close the distance, cut off the ring, and look for the KO."

Rich TaylorTaylor is coming off an impressive victory over Austin Judge on March 15 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. Prior to wrestling at Augsburg, Taylor was a three-time section champion and state place-winner with a career record of 133-25 while wrestling for Como Park High School in St. Paul. He now trains at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Brooklyn Center, the same academy that produced former UFC lightweight world champion Sean Sherk.

"I'm just real excited about this fight," said Taylor, who owns a 5-1 MMA record. "It's my first time ever fighting in my hometown … and I'm going to give the crowd what they pay to see."

Grygelko has high praise for Taylor.

"Rich Taylor is a very talented fighter," said Grygelko. "He's real technical. He has been pretty dominant locally."

Undefeated rising star Caleb Truax and former IBA middleweight champion Matt Vanda will headline the boxing fights.

Truax, a former Upper Midwest Golden Gloves champion who owns a professional record of 5-0, will take on Jason Medina. The fight is scheduled for six rounds.

Vanda (37-6), a former IBA Americas light middleweight champion, will fight Bruce Rumbolz in the main event, which is scheduled for eight rounds.

"It's going to be a great fight," said Grygelko. "Matt Vanda always puts on the best fight in the state. The kid is super exciting. It's nice to have him back fighting in his backyard in East St. Paul. People are really excited. Anybody who follows Matt knows that he's the most exciting fighter in the Midwest. It doesn't matter who he's fighting, he will put on a great fight. He just has a way of getting everybody excited for the fight."

Tickets for "Uncaged" are priced at $45 for ringside, $35 for reserved seating, and $25 for general admission. Save money on box office fees, by purchasing tickets in advance at soboxing.com or by phone at 612.807.5547. Tickets can also be purchased by e-mailing tickets@soboxing.com.

Fight Card:

MMA:
Marcus LeVesseur (12-1) vs. Chaylen Raider (30-12): 155 Pounds
Rich Taylor (5-1) vs. Bryant Clark (3-2): 155 Pounds
Jimmy Gomez (7-2) vs. Joe Rico (0-0): 205 Pounds

Boxing:
Matt Vanda (37-6) vs. Bruce Rumbolz (21-16): 168 Pounds
Caleb Truax (5-0) vs. Jason Medina (N/A): 168 Pounds
Corey Rodriguez Minneapolis, MN (3-0) vs. Fred Thomas (0-7): 147 Pounds
Fight TBD