Highland Heights, OhioTeam Energenics Conditioning CenterNick Goldizen, Miguel Defina, Tom Lutz, Jim Payne and John Strmac represented GriffonRawl at the first promotion of “Criminal Combat”. Held in the field house of Team Energenics, there were a total of eight amateur fights. What follows is a recap of each GriffonRawl fighter.John Strmac led the night off for GriffonRawl versus Rob Newton of Team DNA. John’s standup looked better than previous fights, where he landed a nice front kick and good hand combinations. Much of round one was fought on the ground with John attempting a guillotine and a triangle choke from the bottom as the round expired. Round two went quickly to the ground where John was unable to finish the scrappy DNA fighter after having his back for much of the round. Round three again went to the ground. After attempting one arm bar from the guard, John went right back to the arm bar only to set up a triangle choke. After jockeying for control of the arm, John finally was able to finish as Rob fell unconscious inside the triangle where the referee called a stop to the bout at 2:08 of the third round. (This portion submitted by Jason Dent.)Next up for the team was Tom Lutz making his MMA debut at 205lbs vs. Brandon White. Tom quickly landed a series of hand combinations and found himself in a guillotine attempt as the fight hit the mat. Tom executed his defense perfectly from side control, mounting and then taking the back of his opponent where he landed a series of devastating blows, including one that clipped the orbital bone above Brandon’s right eye sending blood streaming across the mat. More heavy strikes from the back mount was stopped by the referee, giving Tom a TKO victory at :57 of the very first round.The sixth fight of the night paired Jim Payne making his MMA debut against David Blanton from North Carolina. After the fighters exchanged a series of hand combinations from the feet, Jim took an opportunity to rely on his wrestling background taking David to the ground. David appeared to hold a solid guard position, but Jim maintained good posture inside the guard landing numerous solid shots to the face. Jim “smelled blood” later in the round after a solid right dazed his opponent and Jim took the opportunity to continue with a barrage a lefts and rights. The referee stepped in at 2:38 of the first round declaring a TKO win for Jim.In the co-main event, Miguel Defina made his GriffonRawl debut, having one victory under his belt at a contest in Arkansas. He was paired against Jason Lawrence from Team DNA. Both men clearly came to fight and fight hard. Miguel and Jason traded devastating shot after devastating shot, sending the crowd into frenzy and wanting more. Miguel pushed Jason against the cage landing excellent foot stomps before taking him to the ground where Miguel had the upper hand, mounting Jason as the round ended. Round two amazingly surpassed round one in action as again they traded heavy, heavy blows. Each time Miguel appeared rocked, he would land solid shot of his own and visa versa. Miguel again had the upper hand on the ground as round two ended. Sitting directly behind a judge, Mike Lachina reported the judge had rounds one and two 10-9 in favor of Miguel. Both fighters appeared exhausted in between rounds two and three. Yet, they recovered well during the minute break and round three again was packed with heavy blow after heavy blow. The referee was right on top of the action to make sure no one left with permanent damage. Jason was able to land two or three solid shots with Miguel up against the cage wall. It was at this point the referee stepped in, calling a stop to what everyone in the crowd deemed “fight of the night” at 1:12 of round three. An amazing display of heart, courage and class was shown by both fighters.The main event pitted Nick Goldizen (3-0) against undefeated Okey Lawrence of Team DNA. Action started quickly as Goldizen looked to stand and bang. Okey caught Nick with a devastating overhand right, dropping Nick to one knee. Nick recovered quickly landing hand and kick combinations before tying up Okey in the clinch, where he let loose with knees to the body. Okey defended the knee attacks, but it would prove fatal. As he scooped Nick up and slammed him hard to the mat, Nick was lying in wait, landing on his back with his legs around Okey’s neck in triangle choke position. Okey fought the position but was forced to tap at :55 of the first round.In summary, the first promotion of Tim Payne’s “Criminal Combat” was a success. The venue was great and the night well organized. All fighters from all teams showed class in victory and defeat. With three contests pitting GriffonRawl versus Team DNA fighters it was especially nice to see the level of respect each team showed the other. Dan Swift and Jason Dent should be proud the way they’ve trained their fighters for time spent before, during and following competition.Written by: John Strmac Complete Results:185 – Kenny Tackett defeated Jason Parker (Team Energenics), Guillotine Choke at :29 secs 1st Rd 145 - John Strmac (GriffonRawl) defeated Rob Newton (Team DNA), TKO Triangle Choke at 2:08 3rd Rd HVY - JR Garbo (Team Energenics) defeated Shea Frazier, TKO Strikes at 1:59 1st Rd 205 - Tom Lutz (GriffonRawl) defeated Brandon White, TKO Strikes at :57 1st Rd 205 - Jamie Johnson defeated Nate White, TKO Strikes at 2:56 1st Rd 185 - Jim Payne (GriffonRawl) defeated David Blanton, TKO Strikes at 2:38 1st Rd 170 - Jason Lawrence (Team DNA) defeated Miguel Defina (GriffonRawl), TKO Strikes at 1:12 3rd Rd 170 - Nick Goldizen(GriffonRawl) defeated Okey Lawrence (Team DNA), Triangle Choke at :55 1st Rd
Monterrey, Mexico
