NAAFS "Caged Vengeance 6"

Columbus, Ohio

Lifestyles Pavilion

A picture is worth a thousand words and the photo of the victorious Donny 'Eagle Eye' Walker and his opponent, Tony Jayme, is no exception.

On Saturday, September 19, 2009, the two professional featherweights treated NAAFS fans to a fantastic three round fight. This back and forth fight was a true example of mixed martial arts where both fighters displayed their skills standing, getting or preventing a takedown and ground fighting. They both looked to be having an absolute blast and showed great class throughout the fight.

Donny showed his vastly improved takedown defense, grappling and landed a nice head kick in the third round. Depending on your vantage point, you could make a case for either fighter, but in the end, Donny was awarded a split-decision victory from the judges. Immediately following the final bell, the entire crowd rose to give both fighters a standing ovation. A possible fight of the year candidate, Walker / Jayme was one for the ages.

For complete results, visit http://www.naafs.tv/.

(Photo credit: Ryan Heckert.)

Jeff "The Snowman" Monson MMA Seminar

There have been many guests to grace the halls of GriffonRawl MMA Academy. Relson Gracie, Kit Cope and Sonny Marchette are just a few of the names that have held seminars at the academy. However, Team GriffonRawl, in conjunction with the NAAFS and Robert Donaghy, played host to one of the most recognizable names in MMA today. Jeff 'The Snowman' Monson was on site for a three hour MMA seminar on Thursday, August 27, 2009.

Jeff's credentials are impressive to say the least. A Division I college wrestler, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelt, a two-time ADCC champion, over 30 MMA wins and much more. On top of his athletic accomplishments, Jeff was approachable, friendly and had time for everyone.

He began the session sharing some of his favorite techniques for warm-ups, core strength training and stretching as well as the philosophy behind each. He moved on to takedowns, focusing on the basic fundamental understanding of each motion as he covered multiple attacks. Guard passing, half guard, ground and pound, hip movement and positioning were covered as the seminar continued. Of course, no seminar of Jeff's would be complete without his showing of the famous "Monson Choke" and all the details that make it work. Following the official seminar, many stayed afterwards to partake in full speed grappling drills, monitored and instructed by Jeff.

Its safe to say everyone enjoyed themselves and learned a great deal. Members of Evolution BJJ, Team T.A.P., Evolve MMA, Jamestown MMA and Team DNA were all in attendance.

Team GriffonRawl takes this opportunity to thank Greg Kalikas, Bob Donaghy, its guests, and of course "The Snowman" for an excellent seminar.

NAAFS "Rock N Rumble 3"

Cleveland, Ohio

Nautica Pavilion

On Saturday, August 29, 2009 five veterans of GriffonRawl were set for action at the third annual NAAFS Rock N Rumble. Brian McCroskey, Reggie Parks, and John Strmac were scheduled for amateur action, while AJ Pulling and Paul Compton were set for bouts in the pro ranks.

Brian McCroskey had trained extremely hard for his bout with Okey Lawrence of Non-Stop MMA. Having a bit of a reputation for pulling out of fights, Okey weighed in, but never returned to face McCroskey. Brian will no doubt be back sooner than later as he remains one of the top ranked welterweights in the NAAFS.

From the NAAFS website and additional comments, the remaining four recaps are below.

The first fight of the night pitted John Strmac making his 135lb debut against #1 ranked Sean Barnett of Peak Submission MMA. From naafs.tv: "It might not have been the most exciting fight on the card to some of the fans in attendance, but John Strmac (7-2) did what was necessary to pick up the win over Sean Barnett (11-4) in their National Amateur Bantamweight fight. Strmac used a smart strategy, by closing the gap and taking away Barnett's reach advantage."

Next up was Reggie Parks at welterweight versus Huey Contreras. "Reggie Parks (7-2) was making sure that his fight at Rock N Rumble wasn't going to end up in the hands of the judges this time and he did so in a very impressive manner, by defeating the previously unbeaten Huey Contreras (5-1) by TKO in just 35 seconds to make a very loud statement."

"Paul Compton (12-5) made a successful return to teh NAAFS, defeating Jason Carrier (11-12) by Triangle Choke submission at 1:17 of the second round. Compton has always been known for his stand up game and striking abilities, but as a professional he has dedicated more time in the gym to his submissions in order to become a better overall mixed martial artist."

"AJ Pulling (9-3) of Team GriffonRawl pulled off one of the biggest wins of his young career when he defeated Mickey Hughes (6-5) by Armbar submission in the first round of their Pro Series Welterweight contest. Pulling has always been an unorthodox fighter, willing to make the necessary adaptations to counter teh strengths of his opponent and he did that once again, resulting in yet another victory for the GriffonRawl fighter."

Overall the team went 4-0; 5-0 if you consider the McCroskey fight. The guys trained hard and it showed in the cage at Nautica on Saturday night.

(Special mention to Jessica Zomcik of Team DNA. Jessica cross trains with GriffonRawl and wrecked her opponent on the feet. However, she lost by arm bar in the second round of her womens matchup, but not without controversy. Upon reviewing the video, it was clear her opponent tapped out earlier in the round.)