Jason Dent Striking Seminar in Jamestown, NY

February 24th, at the invitation of Jay Wadsworth, Jason Dent presented a 2 hour seminar on 'striking for MMA' at  Kinetix Combat Sports in Jamestown, NY.   Sam and Joe Callari, and George Comer made the two hour trip with Jason.

Twelve Kinetix students participated in the  2 hour class.  At the conclusion of the teaching session, there was an hour of open sparring  where the students had a chance to try out their newly acquired skills.  The class was well received and Jay Wadsworth has asked Jason to return again in 2013 for another seminar.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GR goes 3 for 4 at NAAFS Combat Challenge 23

Saturday night continued the resurgence of GriffonRawl at NAAFS events.  Three of the four warriors GR sent into the cage came away with victories, the sole loss was a very tight Split Decision.

Jon-David Reeves, Samuel Callari, Tony DiSantis and Joe Callari made the trip to the Z-Plex in Streetsboro, Ohio to stand up for GR.  Joe won by Unanimous Decision, Tony finished his opponent by Triangle Choke in the 3rd round, Sam took his win by TKO in the 1st round.  Jon  showed lots of heart and left it all in the cage, more experience will put him in the win column for sure.

GR Head Coach Jason Dent had lots to say about the fights: Sammy fought patiently and countered without hesitation. The pain he inflicted with his low kicks left his opponent open for some good old fashioned 1 – 2's!  Tony Di won in a war and showed Tony has heart thats for sure. His opponent was  game and had tons of heart as well.  Joe's opponent had no answer for the low kicks Joe delivered and he showed some really good takedowns.  Joe dominated his opponent and looked awesome.  Jon-David Reeves did damage with his kicks but his opponent controlled where the fight was so the judges gave him the decision.

Coach Donny Walker made the trip cornered for all four fighters with Jason. 

GR wants to thank Intimidation Clothing for their continued sponsorship of the GR Fight Team

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GriffonRawl Wins Big at Roctagon XXII

GriffonRawl comes home 3-1 from Rocktagon XXII! Congrats to GR's Joe Callari on bringing us home the W as well as we now have 2 NEW GR Fighters in Anthony Disantis & Jon Reeves. Our only loss tonight was Josh Belle who had an amazing fight and only lost by split decision

• Curt Harper verbally submitted to Joe Callari at 1:16 of the second round after a fierce leg kick.
• Tony DiSantis got the TKO against Chad Rothgeb at 2:07 of the first round.
• Jon Reeves defeated Nico Persaliano via TKO at 1:51 of the third round.
• Josh Belle posted GR's only loss for the the night.  Uriah Karkow (Team Bundy) won the split decision against after all three judges scored the back-and-forth battle between the 29-28.  Several people have commented that this was the fight of the night, and could easily been scored either way. Both fighters should be commended for their honorable behavior during and after the fight.

After a long dry spell, GriffonRawl comes out of this event with a set of strong wins.  This should mark a return to our historical path.

If you want to watch our guys win, Rocktagon XXII is set to air on The Comcast Network (TCN) and Comcast Sports (CSN) beginning December 8. Streaming footage of the live event is currently available globally for $9.99 through the Go Fight Live website.

http://www.rocktagonmma.com/

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GriffonRawl goes 6-2 at US Muay Thai Nationals

 

 GriffonRawl had a SOLID showing at the Mauy Thai Nationals. Our fighters went 6-2, our team won the 1st Place Cup for most "Dominant Team" and also won the $200 cash prize for having the most competitors as well. HARD WORK - PAYS OFF!

Team GriffonRawl had 6 of our members and 2 of our Team Fighters travel down to Dayton, Ohio to compete in the 3rd Annual US Nationals Muay Thai Kickboxing Belt Championship/Team Cup. We pretty much almost had a PERFECT showing. We went 6-2 overall and the 2 losses were only by decision. We won both major Team awards in most supporting school in attendance and we won the 1st Place Team Cup for having the team with the most wins.

John Reeves, Ahmad Douglas, La Shaun Ali Garrison, Mike Iacovone, Alex Frank and Joe Callari all posted wins to their records.   Alex Byron and Sammy Callari lost, but both by decision in great battles.  You have to try to succeed.

Congrats guys your team and coaches are super proud of you.

John Reeves may have fought the best of everyone tonight. He mixed his hands, feet, and knees into great combos and had excellent ring movement.

Mike Iacovone and  Iron La Shaun Ali victory picture.  La Shaun actually came back from being rocked twice and get his own TKO. That's all HEART and you can't teach that.

We won most supporting school - prize $200 bucks.  The prize money will be put towards the purchase of a new Thai bag for GR. We also won the 1st place trophy award for Team scoring the most wins at the Kickboxing Nationals. Was a great night.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Sammy Callari Promoted to Blue Belt

Sammy Callari has had a good week.  Saturday night he added to his wins in the cage with a 1st round TKO for the GR Fight Team, and tonight he was promoted to Blue Belt. 

Sammy has been steadily improving his jiu-jitsu skills, and head of the Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy at Team GriffonRawl took notice. Tonight, after class, Jeff Starr promoted Sammy to the rank of blue belt. Sammy's hard work and dedication earned him the promotion.

It's showing up and doing the work that pays dividends in the cage and on the mat.  Be sure to congratulate Sammy on his hard work when you see him in class.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GriffonRawl Goes 2-2 at Caged Vengeance 11

GriffonRawl went 2-2 tonight at NAAFS Caged Vengeance 11. Dan Rammacciato and Sammy Callari delivered dominating first round wins.  Cody Lewis fought hard and tough and John Burbol came very close to finishing his opponent before suffering a close decision loss.  It was a good night for Team GriffonRawl. 

Thank you to everyone who came for cheering on and supporting the team.  The fighters can hear you in the cage.  When you see Dan, Sammy, Cody and John at the academy be sure to congratulate for stepping up and fighting for the team.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GriffonRawl Drops Two at RFO

Saturday, June 30th, three GR Fighters made the trip to Mansfield for RFO's 11th event.  Jason Dent and Donny Walker made the trip too and cornered the fighters. 

It wasn't our night.  Two of our fighters were stopped, and the third didn't fight because his opponent was in a car accident on the way to the event.

Quick Results

• Ryan Lose (155) TKO loss to Bill Gingery early in round 1 by cut
• Dan Ramacciato (155) loss referee stoppage 3rd round (it was a war)
• Joe Callari did not fight

All three guys deserve praise for putting themselves on the line with these fights and all three will come back to win with the support of the team and more work in the gym.

Written by Bob Donaghy

Three More BJJ Belt Promotions

Team GriffonRawl and its Jiu-Jitsu program is pleased to announce that after class on Thursday, Coach Jeff Starr to a moment to recognize the hard work put  in by three GR team members with the following promotions

• Cody Lewis – Blue Belt
• Joe Callari – Blue Belt
• Anthony DiSantis – Blue Belt

Cody, Joe and Anthony have been consistent in showing up to class and have been working hard on the mat, and free-rolling in a constant effort to improve their skills.

If you get a chance, take a moment to congratulate them on their hard work and achievement.  Belt promotions are the direct result of showing up and doing the work.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Four GR Grapplers Place at the Kumite Classic

Congratulations to four GR Grapplers who traveled to Pittsburgh, PA this weekend to participate in the Kumite Classic and brought back enough awards to start their own Wall of Fame.

Ryan Lose and Joe Callari closed out both Gi and No Gi in their weight class.  Jon Reeves and Cody Lewis placed in their classes as well.

Details from Joe Callari: Ryan went 4-0 in gi he won the first 3 by points then beat me in the finals at a rear naked choke, I went 3-1 in gi.  I won first by points, second by armbar, third by points then lost to Ryan in finals. Cody went 1-1 won by triangle choke then lost the next one by armbar. John went 0-2 in gi lost by points then lost by triable to Cody. In no gi Ryan went 3-1 one first by anaconda, won second by armbar, won third by points then lost to me in finals by darce choke. I went 4-0 in no gi won first by kimura, second by armbar, third by guillotine choke then beat Ryan in finals with darce choke. Cody went 2-1 won first by armbar second by armbar. lost in finals by points. Jon went 1-1 lost by triangle then one by rear naked choke.......... Ryan came in first in gi and second in no gi..... I came in second in gi and first in no gi..... Cody came in second in gi and no gi..... John came in second in no gi

Next year it would be great to send an even bigger group down, and collect some more gold!

For videos, try Joe Callari's YouTube Channel here

Written by Bob Donaghy

Combat Challenge Results

GR was to have three fights last night at Combat Challenge 19. Things didn't go our way. Ryan Lose's fight was canceled by Commission order. Joe Callari ran a competitive fight but the referee saw fit to stop the action very late in the third round. AJ Carl barely got out of the blocks before eating a strike and going in too fast for a countering takedown. His opponent took his back and sank a fight ending RNC about a minute into the first round.

Showing up to fight is half the battle, and there was a long dry spell where very few GR fighters had any action at all. We're paying for that now. The only way to shake of cage rust is to get in the cage and fight.

The next GR fighter up is Jason Dent. He takes on Paul Bird for the WWFC on April 7^th in Des Moines, IA. Following close on that fight, Donny Walker will face Frank Carabello for Bellatore at the IX Center in Cleveland on April 20^th

^{Written by: Bob Donaghy}