Muay Thai Challenge 2 "The Battle"

Schaumburg, Illinois

This show was a Rosales Promotion and definitely a good show to have been a part of. Not only were the fights sanctioned by the UWMTA, but also the President Kru Vut was there himself. GriffonRawl fighters who competed include Ivan Erceg, Ryan Conway, Mike Russo, Aaron Veverka, and Jason Dent. Here are the results of our team’s fights:Ivan Erceg vs. Stanley Rousonelos II (Winner Stanley Rousonelos by Split Decision)Aaron Veverka vs. Glen Young (Winner Glen Young by Decision)Ryan Conway vs. James Hill (Winner James Hill by Decision)Mike Russo vs. Al Rojas (Winner Al Rojas by Decision)Jason Dent vs. Ben Yelle (Winner Ben Yelle by Decision)It's too bad the whole team lost at this show but everybody did perform well, all of our fights were wars and nobody got walked over. Also on a positive note everybody came back healthy and without any injuries. Do to our performance our Team has been invited back to compete in their next show in January. (We are looking forward to it and will return with a Vengeance!) A special Thank you is in store for William Dent (Father of Jason) for traveling with the team and being a corner man for all of the fighters. Also Brett Wessler and his buddy Mark from Chicago for helping the team at the fights, it's always nice to have support. We will have videotape of these fights shortly and plan on studying them in class, I think everybody will be impressed with these fights I know I was. Written by:Jason Dent

International Combat Event 5

Middletown, Ohio

Once again these were MMA fights and took place in a cage. On an interesting note the show was ran by Kerry "The Meat Truck" Schall, and Monte Cox who manages some of the greatest fighters in the world of Mixed Martial Arts (Ex. Pat Militech, Jeremy Horn, Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Jason Black, Tim Sylvia, and Robbie Lawler, just to name a few). The show was all amateur MMA matches except for the last two fights of the night. In Co-Main Event of the evening Antoine Skinner, the only man to beat Jason in MMA by decision, won his match. In the Main event of the night Jason Dent dispatched of hometown favorite Billy Rush in the first round of their match. Billy dominated early on scoring a takedown and pushed Jason to the cage which happened to be his corner (Jorge Gurgel, and Rich Franklin). From there he tried to Ground and Pound Jason, with most of his shots being blocked by Jason he quickly went for a Toe Hold but Jason was able to roll out of it. Both fighters scrambled back to thier feet where Jason would get his hooks in first and score a body lock sweep. From here Jason Methodically picked his opponent apart landing shots from Billys half guard (Body, Body, Head) until finally gaining full mount and raining down punches to get the Tap Out with only 30 seconds left in the first round. With Antoine advancing and Jason beating Billy Rush their will be a showdown between the two for the I.C.E. Lightweight Title on the next show, I forgot to mention that it was a four man Tournament.On a cool note Rich Franklin,(Who will be the first fight on the main card of the UFC next Friday.)was in my oppossing corner coaching against me. Overall this was a good event the people running the show did a good job, especially considering they had like over four drop outs the week of for different reasons. The crowd must a been a couple hundred at most, nothing like the Next Level Fighting show from last weekends which had 1,900 in attendance.It's good to be back on the winning streak again and it's also cool that I am set up for a rematch with the only man to beat me in MMA so far, it should be interesting to fight Antoine again. Special Thanks to Mike "The Bull" Russo for coming and cornering me, also thank you goes out to my soon to be Manager Chas Bowlin for getting me this fight and cornering me. Also Thank you to all those here at home for you're support it is appreciated. See everyone in class.

Next Level Fighting 1 - Jason brings home Lightweight Title !

Steubenville, Ohio

This event was definitely a sight to see. As you entered the building and looked down upon the brand new 25’ steel octagon cage, the smell of testosterone and beer filled the air. 1900 fans attended to watch 14 fights throughout the evening. UFC celebrities that attended this event included Wes Sims and Mark Coleman. The rules for this event were identical to the UFC's rules, and you can view the website at http://www.nextlevelfighting.com/. Our fighter Jason Dent fought Nick Spencer 3 bloody MMA rounds to take home the Light Weight Champion belt. Mike Russo fought Chas Jolly and submitted him in the first round with a rear choke. Ryan Conway fought Billy Ayash and tapped out to strikes.Jason Dent – “I would just like to first say what an honor it was to be a part of this show. The people behind the curtains really had their stuff together; this show would have to be one of the best shows that I have competed on in MMA.”Official Results for GriffonRawl fightersJason Dent defeated Nick Spencer 2:20 into the 3rd with a triangle chokeMike Russo defeated Chase Jolly 3:15 into the 1st with a rear naked choke.Billy Ayash defeated Ryan Conway 0:18sec into the 1st with tap out to strikes. Congratulations to the "New" Next Level Fighting Champions!Jason Dent (Light Weight Champion)Angelo Popofski (Middle Weight Champion)Luke Spencer (Welter Weight Champion)Special thanks to GriffonRawl corner men!Mark Fredebaugh, Ivan Erceg, Marco Puljic, Nick FrossThanks to all those who attended!Dan Krempel, Ken Krempel, Bob Flora, Dan Dent, Josh Sievers, Cheyenne, Tony and his daughter Krista, Mikes girlfriend Amanda and her sister Anna.

Extreme Combat Challenge "Mayhem In Muncie"

Muncie, Indiana

Here is some of the news and results from this weekends MMA caged fights. Overall there were about 24 fights total, this show was a mix of Amateur and Proffesional fights. Once again this show was filmed by Indiana Films and will be released on DVD with commentary. It will be released in a couple of weeks so if you would like a copy just go to http://www.indianafilms.com/ to order one. GriffonRawl fighters Mike Russo and Jason Dent both competed this weekend. To start out the night Mike Russo who had been training for a single fight was asked to compete in an 8 man tournament and of course he excepted. As for Jason Dent he was set to fight in the Co-Main Event of the evening against Powerhouse Antoine Skinner, this fight was to be a Pro bout. Now on to the results you have been waiting for. In Mike "The Bull" Russo's Amateur MMA caged fight debut he was nothing less than dominant. The fight consisted of Mike landing a couple of nice leg kicks followed by a good body kick which was caught by his opponent. Mikes opponent next tried to hoist Mike into the air to slam him but Mike locked him in a nice Guillotine choke and wrapped his opponent with his legs preventing the slam from taking place. Naturally the fight proceeded to ground where Mike's opponent was able to muscle out of the choke only to get coaught by a Triangle choke in which Mike made him tap out but unfortunately the tap happened at the same time as the bell. So on to round two where Mike was able to out clinch his opponent and put him to the fence where Mike would land the best KO of the night. The KO came by way of a Knee to the face as Mike's opponent was trying to take him down. Mike was then set to advance to the semi-finals.In Mike's next match he was doing fairly well avoiding takedowns in the first round. In the second round Mike got taken down but was looking good working for submissions until he got caught by a knee while putting an armbar on his opponent. The fight was stopped by the Referee. The knee rocked Mike a little and he was not able to recover quick enough before he got hit with two more of them. At least he got to dish out some pain before recieving some. In the Co-Main event of the evening Jason Dent got beat by Antoine Skinner via decision. The fight consisted of Jason winning on the feet every round before getting taken down by the much stonger Skinner. Antoine actually picked Jason up over his head on at least three occasions and slammed him to the floor. The slams looked pretty but did not phase Jason as he tried to work for Submission after Submission and came close to securing a Triangle Choke before the bell sounded the end of round two. The majority of this fight took place on the ground where Antoine scored some nice elbow shots on Jason from time to time. Jason was able to neutralize any chance of Antoine finishing him with any strike or submission. The decision was a fair one in the fact that Skinner was able to keep the fight where he wanted it and landed some decent strikes on the ground. You win some, you lose some. Mike and I are looking foward to our next Fights on September 13th which will be MMA caged fights also. Personally I will be looking for a little redemption. See everyone at class.

Friday Night at the Fights!

Wheeling, West Virginia

Here is the results and some details of this event. The fights took place at the Wheeling Island & Race Track arena which had a casino inside. (We had to peal Mr. Stafford away from the slot machines !)Before going any further I should add that Juice was the only kickboxing fight of the night (It was under International rules), and Mikes match was an amature Boxing match. Juice fought a good fight, it went all 3 rounds. However he unfortunately lost the decision, but he did very well from the outside landing many, many, leg kicks and body kicks. His opponent (Brian Cameches) was able to get Juice to the ropes where he used his boxing to score some nice shots that cost Juice the decision. Mikes fight was shaping up to be a good one, Mike looked really good early on slipping jabs and contering well until he decided he wanted to go for the KO early (Bad idea !) Both Mike Russo and his oppenent Mike Metz were throwing heavy bombs, it was just a matter of time until one connected unfortunetly it was Russo who caught the big one first. It takes Big Balls just to get in the ring many people will talk all tough but will never back it up. As far as the rest of the night of fights they were all Professional Boxing matches, which I might add were very exciting. A special thank you to Tim Stafford, and Brett Wessler for helping me corner. Also a special thank you to Amanda Lucic for coming out and cheering the team on. Both Mike, and Juice are warriors and both deserve respect. Both these men will be back stronger & more focused than ever. Ill see everybody in class !

Victory in Vegas for "Dynamite"

Las Vegas, Nevada

On the last night of the UWMTA training camp there was a live fight card set to take place in the Tropicana Hotel & Casino. Fighters from New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, California, and throughout the U.S. were set to compete. Kickboxing celeberties in attendance would include, Kru Vut, Master Toddy, Saekson Janjira, Kit Cope, Ben Garcia, Melcor Menor, Phil Baroni, "The Sleeper" Walter Michalowski, and Im sure Im forgeting to name a few. When the opportunity to fight in Las Vegas presented itself Jason jumped on it, I mean how often do you get the chance to fight on the strip in Vegas. Jason weighed in at 160lbs and was matched against Toby Greer who currently trains with Kru Vut Kamnark in California. This fight was to be with no head gear, no shin guards, 14 oz gloves, and was set for three two minute rounds. Here is quick run down. The fight went the distance but was not even close, Jason controled the fight from start to finish. To Tobies credit he landed a couple of good knees, a few punches, and like one leg kick. Dent landed several leg kicks, lots of knees to the thighs and mid section, a nice left kick to the body, and of course his patent switch right hand found its mark more than once. Toby was wobbled on a few different occasions and even stooped to head butting in desperation. When the bell rang there was no doubt who had won the fight.Jason would like to thank his Mentor Dan Rawlings for being in his corner once again, and also thank Nick, Mike, and Brett for there support at the fights. Notch another victory in for the GriffonRawl Ohio team.

"2003" UWMTA Training Camp

Las Vegas, Nevada

This past week GriffonRawl Fighters Mike Russo, Nick Fross, and Jason Dent all attended this years action packed Muay Thai training camp held in beautiful Las Vegas. The camp was held in the Tropicana Hotel & Casino directly on the strip, right next to the MGM, New York-New York, Excaliber,and the Luxor. This may sound like a dream vacation but make no mistake it was pretty intense, and physically demanding. The camp covered everything from conditioning, pad holding, stretching, teaching, refereeing, sparring, history, phiosphy, and more! Also on a positive note Dan Rawlings the man who started the GriffonRawl team was there in attendance and was one of the instructors working for Kru Vut this year. I could go on forever about how awesome this trip was and what a great experience it was for those who attended, I hope there will be more of us going next year. Our school should benefit greatly from the qaulity of information and instruction that we obtained from Kru Vut Kamnark and the entire staff. At the end of this Camp there was a live Muay Thai show featuring some fighters from the camp and fighters from all over the U.S. I was fortunate enough to get a spot on the fight card, I will post a seperate write up on this shortly. Im looking foward to seeing you all in class on Tuesday. Thank You!

Extreme Combat Challenge "Assault on A-Town"

Anderson, Indiana

Mike and Jason traveled to out of state this weekend for Jason to make his Proffesion MMA debut in a cage. The show was very exciting and there was over 15 fights. Jason took on Tim Newland from Muncie, Indiana in one of the featured bouts and was able to finish the fight in the third round. Jason was able to out strike Tim on his feet easily so Tim did a good job at getting Jason to the ground but that was not good enough because Jason is no slouch on the ground either and was able to submit Tim with a Triangle choke. P.S. After elbowing Tim in the head over a dozen times ! Great fight Jason is still undeafeted in MMA and is now in the Pro ranks.

World Extreme Fighting Championships 3 "Shake the Shrine"

Jacksonville, Florida

Dan Rawlings makes successful MMA Debut.World Extreme Fighting would be Dan's first venture into the world of MMA, it would mark the first time he wouldhave to fight in a cage. His opponent would be Matt Horning from Dayton, Ohio who sports an MMA of 10-3 after this fight. Now that Dan has been training in ground fighting to supplement his stand up game he is becoming a well rounded fighter. This fight only lasted two rounds, round one saw the fight on the ground with Dan being able to neutralize his opponents submission attempts until the end of the round by using his half guard and full guard. His opponent made a stupid decision in round two by deciding to stand up with Danny. Dan clinched Matt against the fence and landed multiple knee to his solar plexus which forced the vebal submission. Great fight Dan the GriffonRawl Ohio team wishes you luck in your future fights and looks foward to having you in our classes in August.

The Warriors Challenge Muay Thai Kickboxing Championships

Dayton, Ohio

This show featured a night a amature Muay Thai bouts (Promoted by Manuel Taningco) headlined by Ben Yelle vs. Jason Dent. The main event between Ben and Jason would take place under Proffessional Muay Thai rules (No shin guards, no head gear, 12oz. gloves, and would consist of five 2 minute rounds. Jumping straight into the fight, Jason won rounds 1 & 2, while Ben picked up rounds 3,4 and 5. My hat is off to Ben not only is he a great fighter but he is also a cool guy too. I look foward to meeting him in the ring again in the future. For my own ego I must add that I left some trophys on his face in the form of a black eye and huge purple bubble under his left eye. To Bens credit he chopped the shit out of my leg, (Looks like we will be doing a lot more Thai Blocks in class in the near future !) I would like to thank Ryan Madigan and Mike Russo for coming out and supporting me. Ryan did a fantastic job of wrapping my hands, ankles, and stretching me out. Well, I guess its back to class to get ready for the next fight !