NAAFS "Columbus Night of Pain III"

Columbus, Ohio
The Hoops Sports Complex

On Friday June 27, 2008, the NAAFS invaded Columbus, Ohio for the third time. Team GriffonRawl sent two MMA veterans into action. What follows is a recap of AJ Carl and Landon Khakdoust.AJ Carl took on Chip Hook of Higher Power MMA at 145lbs. Coming off three solid wins in a row, AJ took the fight immediately to the ground with a solid takedown and secured position in side mount. AJ then began a solid ground attack raining knee's into the side of Hook. The ferocity and accuracy of the strikes were enough in the referee's mind, causing him to stop the contest at 49 seconds of the very first round, giving AJ his fourth win in a row. Additionally, this victory vaulted AJ to the #4 ranked fighter in the NAAFS National Amatuer Featherweight rankings.Landon Khakdoust was pitted against a very tough JJ Rey of Team Bullrider at 185lbs. The pace these two set was ridiculously fast for men of this weight class and was talked about as a candidate for "fight of the night." In between rounds one and two, UFC veteran referee Mark Matheny brought the two fighters to the center of the cage and pronounced to the two men "This is what the fans came to see." Landon secured the mount in round one and fought from his back in round two looking for submissions. Round three found the two fighters both in triangle position but from non-tradition angles. Both were looking to end the fight with the choke but in the end JJ's inverted triangle was too much, forcing Landon to tap at 1:25 of the third round. As a side note, Danny Balon of Team DNA defeated Andrew McCoy by triangle choke at 4:36 of round one in a pro-bantam weight contest. Danny is a long-time friend of Team GriffonRawl.Written by:John M. StrmacComplete Results:Tony Nowalk overJason Rine Guillotine Choke 1 :41 Nick Boden over Mike Adkins Guillotine Choke 1 :56 Tom Wilson over Clinton Hughes KO 3 :49 Wes Van Meter over Charles Carr Rear Naked Choke 1 2:17 AJ Carl over Chip Hook TKO 1 :49 Adam Farrell over Aaron Caw TKO 1 1:49 Dane Bonnigson over Kyle Goss Rear Naked Choke 1 :41 Will Leu over Michael Krick Rear Naked Choke 3 2:41 Lyle Sansoucie over Anthony Hayes KO 1 :26 JJ Rey over Landon Khakdoust Inverted Triangle 3 1:25 Jeff McKee over Chris Green Split Decision 3 3:00 Jimmy Rommel over Tommy Ridenbaugh Heel Hook 1 1:50 Thad Schlichter over Ron Hedges TKO 1 2:47 Danny Balon over Andrew McCoy Triangle Choke 1 4:36 John Myers over Tony Jayme Unanimous Decision 3 5:00 Rob Wince over Willie Smalls Rear Naked Choke 1 1:35

NAAFS "Fight Nite in the Flats 4"

Cleveland, Ohio
Plain Dealer Pavilion

On Saturday, June 7, 2008, the regions largest MMA promotion held it's biggest event of the year at Plain Dealer Pavilion in "the flats" of downtown Cleveland. Of the 16 fights, about 3/4-4/5ths of the matchups would be main events at any other show. It was clearly a night of intensity and anticipation! Team GriffonRawl sent three MMA veterans into action. What follows is a recap of these GriffonRawl members.First up in the amateur division at 155lbs was #1 ranked Dan Jones taking on #2 ranked Jeremy Joles. Some tension was present leading up to the fight and the two men wasted no time exchanging heavy blows to start round one. Jeremy was able to secure a takedown and retain side control. Dan was busy off his back, regaining guard and attempting submissions. Round two had Dan nearly sinking a guillotine along with excellent striking. Jeremy scored another takedown and gained a dominate position, while Dan was moving well on his back, defending and looking for another submission attempt. Round three again was action packed with heavy striking followed by another Joles takedown. Dan worked hard and had an arm bar sunk very deep but Jeremy was able to pull out and Joles scored a late takedown. It came down to a judges decision where Jeremy was awarded a split decision victory. As with any split decision, some controversy arises and one thing is for sure the fans are anxious to see these two warriors rematch sooner than later.In the pro-series lightweight division, Paul "Str8outta" Compton (the 2007 Am. Champion) was up against Mike Nesto (the 2006 Am. Champion) in a contest billed as "Champion vs. Champion." Both of these men came into the contest with impressive amateur records. After some initial striking, Paul was able to secure a takedown and immediately started landing wicked elbows inside the guard of Nesto. Mike immediately went for his patented leg attack looking to land a knee bar or an ankle lock and had the submission attempt fairly deep. Paul's athleticism showed bright and he was able to keep moving from side to side, creating a scramble which enabled him to escape, where the ground and pound from Compton continued as he landed more and more elbows. The referee stopped the contest half way through round one to have the doctor check some nasty cuts above the eyes of Nesto. After a few minutes the doctor gave his blessing and the contest picked up right where it left off, with Compton landing more and more elbows. Too much blood was coming from the ultra-tough Nesto forcing the referee to call a stop to the contest towards the end of round one, giving Paul his first pro victory and allowed him to remain unbeaten at 155lbs!In a night of unbelievable matchups only surpassed by the talent displayed, Team GriffonRawl's head coach and owner Jason "Dynamite" Dent was the main event of the evening! He was pitted against the man that knocked out then-champion Torrance Taylor, Nick Sorg for the NAAFS Pro-Series Lightweight Title. Jason started off throwing some "feeler" jabs and inside leg kicks as he felt his opponent out. Seeing an opportunity to close the distance Nick unleased a barrage of straight punches, upper cuts, body shots and a head kick that had the crowd rise to its feet. Jason stepped back, dropped his hands, shook his head "no" and motioned to Nick to keep bringing it on, sending electricity through the crowd as they chanted "Jay-son! Jay-son!" Jason appeared to find his rhythm and started landing solid shots, but Sorg proved he belonged not backing down as the round ended. Round two showed Dent as the aggressor landing solid combinations and forced Nick to go for a takedown where Jason's ground skills were put on display. Jason's secured a tight, high guard where he unleashed upwards of a dozen elbows to the head of Sorg, each seeming to find their mark. Attempting to break the guard, Jason hit a deep arm lock from his back forcing a very tough Nick Sorg to tap midway through the second round. Jason earned the NAAFS Pro-Series Lightweight title and remained unbeated at Fight Night in the Flats!In conclusion, everyone that stepped into the cage should be applauded. It was a very hot day coupled with extreme humidity, where conditioning, heart and talent were on display in each and every fight.Written by:John StrmacComplete Results:155 lbs Title – Jason “Dynamite” Dent 21-8 (Team Griffon-Rawl) over Nick Sorg 6-5 (Team Predator) by Armbar in Rd 2265 lbs Title – “Cujo” Joe McCall 6-0 (Team Instigator) over James Sendo 7-2 (Dragon's Den/Hammer House) by KO in Rd 1185 lbs Title– Mitch Whitesel 12-6 (Wreckroom Athletics) over Johnny Soeder 5-1-1 (Strong Style Fight Team) Armbar Rd 1150 lbs – Paul “Str8 Outta” Compton 11-2 (Team Griffon-Rawl) over Mike Nesto 10-5 (Schraders MMA) by TKO in Rd 2145 lbs - Cody "The Wolverine" Stevens 10-2 (Wreckroom Athletics) over Hobert Cornett 11-2 (Brewer's Gym) by Guillotine in Rd 1170 lbs - Brandon Pierce 6-1 (Team Jorge Gurgel) over Kellen Hughes 8-2 (Team Next Level) by Triangle in Rd 2NAAFS National Amateur Series Bouts265 lbs – Stipe Miocic 5-0 (Strong Style Fight Team) over Nick Turco 16-5 (Eastside Combat Club) by TKO in Rd 1170 lbs - John "Kuddles" Kuhner 12-0 (Black Dragon MMA) over Nick "The Savage" Duell 9-3-1 (Jungle Fight Team) by KO in Rd 1170 lbs – Frank “The Tank” Carabello 7-4 (Rising Dragon) over DJ “The Juggernaut” Jacobucci 4-3 (Strong Style) RNC Rd 1155 lbs - Jeremy Joles 5-2 (Independent) over Dan "The Daredevil" Jones 5-1 (Team Playland) by Split Decision175 lbs - Russ Halsey 4-1 (Pain Headquarters) over Chuck Ellison 7-3 (Instigator) by RNC in Rd 3125 lbs - Jessica Eye 1-0 (Strong Style Fight Team) over Kari Ricker 2-2 (Dragon's Den-HammerHouse) by TKO in Rd 3265 lbs – "Big" John Hawk 4-0 (Jungle Fight Team) over Matt Lust 4-2 (Black Dragon MMA) by RNC in Rd 2185 lbs - Chris Lozano 3-0 (Strong Style Fight Team) over Mickey Hughes 3-3 (H20 MMA) by Guillotine Choke in Rd 3155 lbs - Zach Sutek 4-1 (Instigator Fight Team) over Joey "The Hitman" Holt 4-2 (Gym City Gladiators) by RNC in Rd 2185 lbs - AJ Aeschlimann 3-0 (Team Instigator) over Sean Paul Veilleux 1-1 (Jungle Fight Team) by UD170 lbs - Bill Morsetti 1-0 (H20 MMA) over Steve Kosarko 1-1 (Strong Style) by TKO in Rd 1