NCAA Wrestling Trio Sign with WEC
Jordan Breen Jul 18, 2008
It's the next turn on the fast track for NCAA wrestling stars Jake
Rosholt, Johny Hendricks and Shane Roller, as the Team Takedown
Trio has signed with the WEC.
Team Takedown managing partner Ted Ehrhardt confirmed to Sherdog.com Thursday that Rosholt, Hendricks and Roller have all inked five-fight deals with Zuffa’s second promotion.
"We're very excited obviously about working with the WEC," Ehrhardt
told Sherdog.com. "Their last two cards have been as good as any
card out there. It's the perfect step up for us in terms of giving
our guys top level competition. They've quickly outgrown the
smaller shows."
The revolutionary Team Takedown, headed by Ehrhardt and his brother Doug Ehrhardt and partner Tim McBride, burst into MMA in 2007, when the management group signed the trio of Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestlers. Team Takedown seeks to convert top collegiate wrestlers into MMA fighters, signing their charges to multi-year contracts which provide their fighters with six-figure salaries, allowing them to train full-time as MMA fighters. Rosholt, Hendricks and Roller are currently coached by Cobra Kai Brazilian jiu-jitsu head Marc Laimon and also train at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
Roller, a three-time All American wrestler and Big 12 conference champion at Oklahoma State, will be the first to make his promotional debut. Carrying a 3-1 record, Roller will step in for Alex Karalexis (Pictures), who has been sidelined with a cracked rib, to take on once-beaten Todd Moore in a lightweight bout on the undercard of WEC's Aug. 3 card at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Roller ran roughshod over his last opponent, Yoshihiro Kitaoka, this past March, while Moore was defeated for the first time in his last bout, dropping a unanimous decision loss to veteran John Alessio (Pictures) at welterweight.
Rosholt and Hendricks will both make their debuts on the WEC's Sept. 10 card at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Rosholt, a three-time national wrestling champion as an OSU Cowboy, will take a 4-0 undefeated record into his middleweight tilt with Brazilian veteran Danilo Villefort. Hendricks, a two-time national champion at OSU and owner of a 3-0 mark in MMA, will meet Alex Serdyukov (Pictures) in a 170-pound bout.
Rosholt and Hendricks were both impressive in their last bouts this past March -- Rosholt pounded out Chad Jay over a brutal 13 minutes, while Hendricks quickly submitted Richard Gamble. Villefort notched a sensational submission of his own with a kneebar in his March victory over Mike Massenzio, while Serdyukov halted Luis Sapo (Pictures) after the first round in their June tilt. WEC's Sept. 10 card will also feature a double championship headliner, as featherweight kingpin Urijah Faber (Pictures) defends his 145-pound title against American Top Team product Mike Thomas Brown (Pictures). In a rematch of their controversial December bout, Paulo Filho (Pictures) risks his middleweight title against Chael Sonnen (Pictures).
Team Takedown managing partner Ted Ehrhardt confirmed to Sherdog.com Thursday that Rosholt, Hendricks and Roller have all inked five-fight deals with Zuffa’s second promotion.
Advertisement
The revolutionary Team Takedown, headed by Ehrhardt and his brother Doug Ehrhardt and partner Tim McBride, burst into MMA in 2007, when the management group signed the trio of Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestlers. Team Takedown seeks to convert top collegiate wrestlers into MMA fighters, signing their charges to multi-year contracts which provide their fighters with six-figure salaries, allowing them to train full-time as MMA fighters. Rosholt, Hendricks and Roller are currently coached by Cobra Kai Brazilian jiu-jitsu head Marc Laimon and also train at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
Roller, a three-time All American wrestler and Big 12 conference champion at Oklahoma State, will be the first to make his promotional debut. Carrying a 3-1 record, Roller will step in for Alex Karalexis (Pictures), who has been sidelined with a cracked rib, to take on once-beaten Todd Moore in a lightweight bout on the undercard of WEC's Aug. 3 card at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Roller ran roughshod over his last opponent, Yoshihiro Kitaoka, this past March, while Moore was defeated for the first time in his last bout, dropping a unanimous decision loss to veteran John Alessio (Pictures) at welterweight.
Rosholt and Hendricks will both make their debuts on the WEC's Sept. 10 card at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Rosholt, a three-time national wrestling champion as an OSU Cowboy, will take a 4-0 undefeated record into his middleweight tilt with Brazilian veteran Danilo Villefort. Hendricks, a two-time national champion at OSU and owner of a 3-0 mark in MMA, will meet Alex Serdyukov (Pictures) in a 170-pound bout.
Rosholt and Hendricks were both impressive in their last bouts this past March -- Rosholt pounded out Chad Jay over a brutal 13 minutes, while Hendricks quickly submitted Richard Gamble. Villefort notched a sensational submission of his own with a kneebar in his March victory over Mike Massenzio, while Serdyukov halted Luis Sapo (Pictures) after the first round in their June tilt. WEC's Sept. 10 card will also feature a double championship headliner, as featherweight kingpin Urijah Faber (Pictures) defends his 145-pound title against American Top Team product Mike Thomas Brown (Pictures). In a rematch of their controversial December bout, Paulo Filho (Pictures) risks his middleweight title against Chael Sonnen (Pictures).
