Ranking the Mount St. Joseph Wrestlers Who Have Competed in the Legends Fight Series

There is an important distinction in defining the list. Legends Fight Series is the successor to Ohio Combat League, and LFS itself says it carries forward OCL’s history.

Using that full LFS/OCL promotional lineage, I can verify three former Mount St. Joseph University wrestlers who have competed for the promotion: Cornell Beachem Jr., Chase Haehnle and Tyler Ray.

If you mean specifically the upcoming September 12, 2026 Night of Champions at MegaCorp Pavilion, Tyler Ray is the only Mount wrestler I can currently verify on the publicly listed card. He is scheduled to fight Shaun Asher for the LFS middleweight championship.

Here is how I would rank the three strictly by collegiate wrestling success at Mount St. Joseph.

Rank Wrestler Mount St. Joseph résumé LFS/OCL connection

1Cornell Beachem Jr. NCAA DIII National Champion, undefeated championship season, two-time HCAC Athlete of the Year Multiple OCL fights

2Chase Haehnle Three-year MSJ wrestler; 6th at Ohio Northern Invitational OCL 33 & OCL 41

3Tyler Ray Senior 184-pound wrestler at MSJ; collegiate tournament experience Current LFS title challenger

1. Cornell Beachem Jr.

There isn’t much debate about No. 1.

Cornell Beachem Jr. is not merely the most accomplished college wrestler of this group—he is one of the most accomplished athletes in Mount St. Joseph history.

Beachem captured the 2022 NCAA Division III national championship at 174 pounds, becoming Mount St. Joseph’s first national champion in school history. He defeated Michael Ross of Johnson & Wales 5-1 in the championship match.

His résumé goes considerably deeper.

Beachem finished his 2021-22 wrestling season undefeated and was named the HCAC Male Athlete of the Year. Mount St. Joseph noted that he had not lost a Division III match during his collegiate career. He also earned the HCAC Athlete of the Year honor in 2019-20.

Before winning the national championship, Beachem was already the country’s No. 1-ranked Division III wrestler at 174 and won the prestigious Pete Willson Invitational.

His wrestling accomplishments translate naturally to MMA. Beachem competed several times for Ohio Combat League, including a unanimous-decision victory over Chance Beck in the main event of OCL 43 on March 21, 2026.

Collegiate grade: A+

There is an enormous gap between Beachem and everyone else on this list. A national championship automatically places him in another category.

2. Chase Haehnle

Chase Haehnle gets the No. 2 position based on the best documented tournament résumé of the remaining two wrestlers.

Haehnle competed for Mount St. Joseph from at least 2018-19 through 2020-21, with the university’s official roster identifying him as a junior in 2020-21 and an Oak Hills High School graduate.

One of his better collegiate performances came at the 2019 Ohio Northern Invitational.

Haehnle lost his opening match but then put together an impressive consolation run, winning five consecutive matches. That stretch included:

• Three pins
• Two technical falls
• A sixth-place finish at 149 pounds

He actually reached his NCAA match limit before completing the tournament.

Haehnle also picked up multiple victories in dual competition. At the 2019 Comet Duals, for example, he scored a 17-2 technical fall against Muskegon Community College and another victory against Adrian.

Unlike Beachem, Haehnle did not become an NCAA national qualifier or All-American based on the results I could verify. Still, he was a legitimate Division III collegiate wrestler who accumulated meaningful tournament and dual-meet experience.

Haehnle subsequently moved into MMA. He defeated Malachi Simmons by first-round rear-naked choke at Ohio Combat League 41 on October 18, 2025, and also fought for OCL 33.

Collegiate grade: B-

Haehnle wasn’t an elite national-level collegiate wrestler, but his tournament accomplishments give him the edge for second place.

3. Tyler Ray

Tyler Ray may actually be the most important Mount St. Joseph connection to the current Legends Fight Series, even though he ranks third when we’re looking strictly at collegiate wrestling accomplishments.

Mount St. Joseph’s official records list Ray as a senior 184-pound wrestler during the 2014-15 season, from West Chester, Ohio, and Lakota East High School.

There is documentation of Ray competing in strong college tournaments. At the Ohio Northern Invitational, for example, Ray defeated Willie Alford of Lycoming 7-1 while wrestling at 184 pounds.

However, I could not find evidence of Ray becoming an NCAA Division III national qualifier, All-American, regional champion or major tournament placer comparable to Beachem—or even a documented top-six tournament finish like Haehnle’s Ohio Northern performance.

That’s why I have him third for collegiate wrestling only.

His MMA career is a completely different story.

Ray is currently listed at 11-6 as a professional and is scheduled to face Shaun Asher for the LFS Middleweight Championship on September 12, 2026 at MegaCorp Pavilion in Newport.

So while Ray ranks third in this particular exercise, he is presently the Mount wrestler with the biggest role on an LFS card.

Collegiate grade: B-/C+

Final Ranking

1. Cornell Beachem Jr. — NCAA Division III National Champion

2. Chase Haehnle — three-year Mount wrestler and tournament placer

3. Tyler Ray — Mount senior starter who developed into an established professional MMA fighter

Conclusion

Cornell Beachem Jr. is the clear No. 1. There really isn’t a reasonable argument for anybody else. Becoming an NCAA Division III national champion—and the first national champion in Mount St. Joseph history—puts his collegiate career on an entirely different level.

The more interesting argument is between Chase Haehnle and Tyler Ray. Haehnle gets my No. 2 spot because his collegiate résumé contains the stronger verified tournament achievement: sixth at the Ohio Northern Invitational after five consecutive consolation victories. Ray had significant collegiate wrestling experience, but I have not found a comparable postseason or major tournament placement.

Yet the order changes dramatically if we rank them as mixed martial artists instead of college wrestlers. Ray’s lengthy professional career and upcoming LFS championship opportunity would make him a serious candidate for No. 1 in an MMA-focused ranking, while Beachem’s extraordinary wrestling pedigree makes him perhaps the most intriguing athlete of the group.