NAAFS "Northcoast Showdown 5"

Four of Griffonrawl's warriors were in action for NAAFS "Northcoast Showdown 5" in Streetsboro, Ohio on April 18, 2010.





Jason Departo made his debut at 145lbs. Although Jason lost by unanimous decision, he showed tremendous heart and perseverance throughout the contest and gained valuable experience that will pay dividends in the future.


Steve Hetzel also made his debut at 145lbs. Steve used a sound strategy to defeat the effective striker, Ray Ewert of Rising Dragon MMA. Steve was dominate in the first two rounds and was able to maintain control in round three to earn his first MMA victory. Having no previous martial arts experience prior to joining Team GriffonRawl, Steve showed what hard work and dedication can bring.


Dave Klima fell short of victory at 170lbs, but in the process of the three round fight he showed many good signs and fought valiantly throughout the nine minute contest. Showing sound resolve, Dave was at practice the following Monday eager to improve and move forward towards his next contest.


Tom Salvatore wasted little time in the cage starting out explosive with heavy strikes against Johnny Dionisi of Team Air-Gadfly. The contest was called at :35 of the very first round, earning Tom a TKO victory. Ever-impoving, Tom capitalized on his cross training to earn his second victory since joining the team.


Congratualtions to all members, who fought hard and represented Team Griffonrawl with class in each bout.

For full results visit www.naafs.tv

UMMAXX 10

Two of Griffonrawl's finest were in action at UMMAXX 10 and both were up for title bouts.

George Comer used an excellent strategy against the seasoned and always game, Relentless Russ Halsey of Pain Headquarters to win the UMMAXX Amateur Lightweight title. After three exciting rounds, George was declared victorious by all three judges. Congrats to George on his second amateur title!

Paul Compton took on Jay McLean for the UMMAXX professional featherweight title. Jay landed an early head kick and the referee stepped in calling a stop to the contest at 1:40 seconds. Although Jay landed a clean shot, many believed it was a premature stoppage. Afterwards, a classy-Compton stated, "It may have been an early stoppage, but it was a great kick by Jay."

For full results visit www.ummaxx.net

NAAFS "Caged Fury 7 (SemiFinals)"

On October 10, 2009, Team GriffonRawl sent four men into semi-final action of the 2009 NAAFS amateur series.

Ryan Lose failed in his attempt to avenge an earlier defeat to Doug Kulbis at 145lbs. An entertaining fight which Lose did a good deal of damage, both men showed incredible heart. It was Kulbis, however, that was able to secure a choke mid-way through round three.

George Comer defeated a very dangerous Jordan Knippelberg by unanimous decision to send the second amateur lightweight from the team to the finals in three years. George avoided the dangerous submission specialist utilizing his athleticism and well thought-out game plan.

Reggie Parks and Bryon McCroskey were both set for action at 170lbs. The former would showcase the spirit of competition and sportsmanship that makes Team Griffonrawl truly a TEAM. Bryon's opponent in August failed to show following weigh-ins and Bryon again found his opponent unable to fight due to a legitimate reason. In an incredible display of unselfishness, Reggie bowed out of the tournament, allowing Bryon to take his place and fight his opponent, Larry Ray. Bryon secured a victory in round one by ankle lock. NAAFS officials did the right move, and declared Reggie a winner in his "bout." Not willing to fight each other, Bryon and Reggie were declared co-champions in the welterweight division.

For full results visit www.naafs.tv

NAAFS "Night of Champions 2009 "

On Saturday, December 5, 2009 Team Griffonrawl sent two men into action at NAAFS Night of Champions.

But first and foremost, Reggie Parks and Bryon McCroskey were honored as the 2009 NAAFS Welterweight C0-Champions!

In the cage, Bryon McCroskey made an unsuccessful drop to 155lbs, coming just short by a split decision from the judges. It appeared McCroskey did much more damage, but Tony Castillo may have been more active.

In the 155lb amateur title fight, George Comer, whom most had as a significant underdog, executed a great game plan to defeat rival Kevin Rothacker of Strong Style Fight Team. This is the second amateur lightweight title in three years for Team Griffonrawl.

For full results visit www.naafs.tv

NAAFS "Caged Fury 9"

On February 20, 2010, three Griffonrawl veterans stepped into action at NAAFS "Caged Fury 9" at the historic Gray's Armory. Alongside 2009's Rock N Rumble, Caged Fury 9 will be looked back upon as a hallmark evening for Team Griffonrawl.

Bryon McCroskey (155) improved his record and showcased a beatiful combination on his feet and finished strong forcing a stop to the action, giving Bryan a :35 TKO victory over Instigator's Zack Sutek.

Reggie Parks (170) gained his unanimous decision victory via an extremely well thought out game plan, and exectued to perfection over previously unbeaten Travis Soto of Vander Fighting Systems.

Donny Walker moved into the finals of the pro-series featherweight tournament by defeating Dustin Kempf, in what all in attendance agree is a fight of the year candidate. NAAFS President, Greg Kalikas proclaimed, "That's the best fight I've ever seen in person." Donny secured the wild, back and forth war with a referee stoppage at 4:55 of the second round.

Not only did all three men come away victorious, they looked excellent in their performances as well. Team Griffonrawl showed great sportsmanship throughout the night, in and out of the cage.

For full results visit www.naafs.tv

SCF War in the Heartland "This One's Personal"

Elyria, Ohio

Elyrian Roll Arena

On Saturday Februrary 26th 2010 GR once again returned to fight in the SCF organization. It ended up being another great night for us. We took one proffessional and three amateurs to compete on this night. Long story short we ended up going 3-1 and here are our teams results. Paul Compton won the 145lb Pro SCF Title via TKO in round three after hitting his opponent with a beatiful head kick and following it up by dropping some bombs on his dazed opponent Matt Horning. Paul is one of our Pro's and took this fight against the much more experienced Horning who has over 40 proffesional fights under his belt. Now on to our ammy's where Tommy Judd made his debut with our team winning by TKO improving his record to 1-1, Dan Farnworth continued his winning ways by finishing his tough opponent with a beautiful traingle choke improving his record to 2-1, and last but not the least the ever so tough Ryan Lose fought a very tough opponent and ended up getting caught with a big punch and getting TKOed. Losses do happen even to skilled fighters. Ryan will bounce back and be a force to reckon with for sure. Thanks to all of the family, friends, of the fighters whos showed up and supported us and a BIG thanks to all of the GR students who came out and supported as well.

NAAFS "Full Contact Kickboxing"

GriffonRawl had the opportunity on Saturyday, October 3, 2009 to get back to its roots. Although Aaron "Juice" Veverka had his fight cancelled, Dan Farnworth and Landon Khakdoust represented the team in amateur kickboxing.

Landon was pitted against Chris Melilio from Evolve MMA at 170lbs. Before the fight began, Landon looked a bit disoriented after hitting the sauna. Although he was already at weight, he went to assist Dan with his final weight cut. Landon should take that approach going forward. From the opening bell to the final (unanimous) decision, Landon appeared in complete control, scoring several knockdowns which resulted in standing eight counts for Melilio. Melilio showed crazy heart and refused to stay down and kept fighting to the very end. For those who were there, Landon treated the crowd to a classic victory speech.

Lil' Dan Farnworth was taking on NAAFS veteran Druicer Dru Schottenheimer at 145lbs. In a classic moment before the fight, Dan and Dru said to one another, "Let's go put on the fight of the night"...and they did just that. A back and forth battle, with Dan's aggressiveness and Dru's heavy body kicks kept the crowd on the edge of their seats the entire time. Every time Dru threw a head kick, Dan answered with one of his own. The pace through all three rounds was amazing. Dan appeared to have control the first two rounds, but they were close to be sure. Late in the third, Dan took 2-3 heavy shots and appeared to be rocked, but kept firing back. Dan was awarded a split-decision win for his efforts and both men received a deserving standing ovation for their efforts.

For full results visit http://www.naafs.tv/

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.)