Veteran Courtney Buck returns to action for the first time since being released by the WEC on Friday night during "Combat on Capitol Hill 2" at the St. Paul Armory.

After suffering a pair of losses in the WEC, it might make sense for Buck to take it easy and take a few tuneup fights. But that's not his style.

Instead, Buck will receive a major test from Minnesota Martial Arts Academy-trained Brandon Bergeron.

It's an intriguing matchup, a throwback to the old days of style vs. style. Buck is one of the hardest hitting 145-pounders in the state, while Bergeron's jiu-jitsu is as good as any fighter's in the weight class

"Buck is coming off of back-to-back losses in the WEC, but proved he’s more than capable of hanging with high-class competition after he dropped both his opponents in their respective fights," matchmaker Drew Studer said. "Bergeron will be fighting his third bout at 145. He's currently 2-0 at the new weight. This will undoubtedly be his biggest fight since his split-decision loss to Ashkan Morvari. Most people I've spoken to are undecided when it comes to predictions. I could see the fight going either way."

Fighting in the co-main event will be two of the Midwest's best heavyweights, including Minnesota's own Karl Knothe. He'll take on Richard White (15-5) of Disorderly Conduct.

Knothe (24-5) is making his way back to 205 pounds, but he's not taking cupcake fights on his way down. Instead,

he'll face the biggest opponent of his career since he took on UFC vet Chris Tuchscherer early in his career.

"Knothe is certainly the more technical of the two, but it’ll be interesting to see how he deals with the size advantage of the hard-hitting White," Studer said.

Returning to the cage on Friday will be former four-time Division III national champion wrestler Marcus LeVesseur. He bounced back from a loss to Jay Buck with a brutal knockout of Jay Ellis over in Wisconsin earlier this month.

Now LeVesseur (18-3) looks to continue to make his way back up with a fight against Morrisson Lamb (8-12-1) at 155 pounds.

Size may be Lamb's lone advantage in this fight, though he's also experienced. Lamb pushed No. 1-ranked Travis Perzynski to a third round before being caught in a triangle choke.

"If LeVesseur comes in to the fight like he did against Buck, it could be a long night for the local lightweight," Studer said. "Lamb is a good-sized lightweight, who like Buck, has fought as high as middleweight."

Fan favorite Mike Jiang will look to keep busy with his second fight in six weeks. Facing Jiang will be Kris “The Asian Sensation” Boyden of Indiana.

Boyden is the current Indiana Ring Rumble 155 and 145 champion.

Jiang (9-3) returned after a lengthy layoff to top Bruce Johnson of Team Crazy last month in Minneapolis.

"If Jiang comes out of this one without too many bumps or bruises, he’ll be fighting again in two weeks against Seth Marquez at Black Bear Casino," Studer said. "Jiang assured me that he isn’t looking past Boyden in any way and will be looking to claim the title of 'Most Sensational Asian.'"

Nick "The Big Hurt" Kirk will return to action Friday night in St. Paul. The Big Hurt, who trains at the Minnesota Fight Factory, also will be taking on the toughest opponent of his young career in Julian Nava.

While Nava is just 2-4, he's training with the HIT Squad down in Illinois.

"Don't let Nava's record fool you," Studer said. "The Illinois featherweight currently trains with the likes of Robbie Lawler and Matt Hughes. A lot of his losses have come against good fighters in bouts he took on short notice. Julian has had more than a month to prepare for Kirk, so I'm sure we'll see his best. Kirk has been garnering a lot of attention lately. He's received a few offers from bigger promotions and will be looking to send a message with this one. I'm expecting a very good, competitive fight."

Making his pro debut Friday will be the always entertaining Sam Schad. He called out all the members of Anytime Fight Club when he jumped in the cage at last month's "Havoc at the Hyatt 2" card in Minneapolis.

Friday, Schad, who had more than 200 wins as a high school wrestler at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, will look to win his pro debut against Anytime's Dan Kiser (2-1).

Schad is one of the state's most intriguing prospects at 155 pounds. But Kiser will offer a test for Schad, who's fighting for the first time since his three-round war against Beau Penk.

"There is a bit of bad blood between the two; Schad called out not only Kiser, but everyone else in his gym," Studer said. "He said he's going to pick them all off one-by-one. Kiser has a very active guard, and being a wrestler, that’s exactly where Schad likes to be. On our inaugural show back in February, Dan had Zach Juusola in a deep triangle choke that looked to possibly end the fight before being powerbombed unconscious. This is definitely not a fight you want to miss."

Schad will enter the fight ranked No. 10 in Minnesota at 155.

Another ranked fighter in action Friday will be Jay Wood, who's No. 10 at 170. He will take on Wisconsin's Eddie Larrea (9-9) in a bout that Studer said could be the fight of the night.

"Wood and Larrea could steal the show," Studer said. "Both are good grapplers who have no problem pushing the pace. Wood has been chomping at the bit for a fight. He was supposed to take on former MAX Fights champion Lucas St. Claire last month, but unfortunately the show was canceled. Larrea definitely has experience on his side, but Wood was an accomplished collegiate wrestler who trains with a great team at the MMAA. Larrea has been a very good gatekeeper for the division locally. I have no doubt we're going to see exactly just how good Jay Wood really is."

On the amateur portion of Friday's card will be Minnesota sensation Blake Hagert (2-0) taking on Nick Larson (1-1).

Friday is Hagert's 18th birthday. He's already training with the best camp in the state at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. Hagert's jiu-jitsu is considered elite.

Larsin trains with Anytime Fight Club and has a reputation as a brawler, Studer said.

"Hagert's only 17, but he's definitely one to watch out for," Studer said. "Larsin’s coming off a first-round TKO win over Matt Brogan on a Driller Promotions show last month."

In another amateur showdown, Studer has granted Adam Schlepp the rematch he asked for. Schlepp will take on Donald Williams.

Schlepp and Williams met last month at Havoc at the Hyatt 2, but Schlepp felt that fight was stopped too quickly when Williams won by TKO in just 32 seconds.

The fight in Minneapolis took place at 145 pounds, but this fight will be at 136.

"Williams won via a quick first round referee's stoppage in their meeting last month," Studer said. "It was a somewhat controversial decision as most believed Williams to have used an illegal slam to set up the eventual TKO. We’ll see if the new weight class changes anything for the Augsburg wrestling alumnus Schlepp."

Codie Kahler and Duane Carter will meet in an amateur fight, and both will be making their debuts. Carter is with the Crystal Lakes Fight Club, while Kahler trains with 10K MMA: Land of 10,000 Strikes.

Mike Nimlos will face fellow rookie Alexis Pointsette at a catch-weight bout of 195 pounds. Nimlos is a Minneapolis city police officer and BJJ purple belt who trains out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. Poinsette is a good striker who has spent time at Next Level Combat in Woodbury.

Tickets for Friday's show are available now from any of the participating fighters. Tickets also will be available at the door. Fights are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., with the doors opening at 7.

COMBAT ON CAPITOL HILL 2

Friday, St. Paul

145 — Brandon Bergeron (8-3) vs. Courtney Buck (9-3)

Heavyweight — Richard White (15-5) vs. Karl Knothe (24-5)

155 — Morrison Lamb (8-12-1) vs. Marcus LeVesseur (18-3)

145 — Kris Boyden (8-11) vs. Mike Jiang (9-3)

135 — Julian Nava (2-4) vs. Nick Kirk (3-0)

155 — Dan Kiser (2-1) vs. Sam Schad (4-2)

170 — Eddie Larrea (9-9) vs. Jay Wood (1-0)

135 - Nick Larsin (1-1) vs. Blake Hagert (2-0)

135 - Adam Schlepp (3-2) vs. Donald Williams (3-0)

195 - Alexis Poinsette (0-0) vs. Mike Nimlos (0-0)

Codie Kahler (0-0) vs. Duane Carter (0-0)