GR Invades Pittsburgh: NAGA Results and Review

GR NAGA Warriors: Rob Rizer, Cody Lewis, Josh Belle, Craig James Jackson, Scott Jackson, Matt Hopkins, Nikolai Gionti, Jacob Myers Propst, Tony Reel, William Sutton, Andrew Franetic, Michael Frenk and Alex Frenk.  (Picture courtesy of Alex Frenk)

Last weekend a crew set out from GR to the Pittsburgh Indoor Sports Arena for the NAGA Pittsburgh Grappling Championship.  NAGA, (North American Grappling Association) is the largest and most active competitive grappling association in the world.  NAGA grappling tournaments consist of gi and no-gi divisions. No-Gi competitors compete under rules drafted by NAGA. Gi competitors compete under standardized Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu rules.  Competitors are classed by age (Kids, Teens, Adult, Master, Director and Executive), experience and skill level.  The group GR sent ranged from  from Kids to Masters in both Gi and No-Gi.  The team did very well with 8 first place finishes, 4 second, and 4 in third place. 

The trip was inspired by Ahmad Douglas’ recent entry in the Lyndhurst Spring Open.  Suddenly the gym had open competition fever and plans were drafted to make a group outing to the next available event within a day’s driving distance.  NAGA Pittsburgh was it.  Once the date and destination was settled the crew grew quickly and all told 13 members made the trip.

Tony Reel No Gi

It’s great to see this kind of spontaneous travel for the gym, it demonstrates what a family GR has become.  Many thanks to the gym members who provided transportation, cornered the matches and shepherded the youngest members.  There are many more grappling events this Spring/Summer and getting out of the academy to expand your competitive range, testing yourself against new people, can only improve your grappling.

Full event results are HERE

NAGA Home page is HERE

Gi Results

Mens GI White Belt Fly Weight	1st	Nikolai Gionti
Mens GI White Belt Cruiser Weight	3rd	William Sutton
Mens GI Blue Belt Fly Weight	1st	Jeffrey Offak
Mens GI Blue Belt Cruiser Weight	2nd	Jacob Propst
Mens GI Brown / Black Belt Welter Weight	1st	Antonio Reel

No Gi Results

Mens NO-GI Beginner Bantam Weight	1st	Nikolai Gionti
Mens NO-GI Intermediate Bantam Weight	2nd	Jeffrey Offak
Mens NO-GI Beginner Cruiser Weight	1st	William Sutton
Masters NO-GI Intermediate Light Weight	1st	Alex Frenk
Mens NO-GI Expert Middle Weight	2nd	Antonio Reel

Kids & Teens Results

Kids NO-GI Beginner 70 to 79.9 lbs 11 yrs old	1st	Andrew Franekic
Kids NO-GI Intermediate 70 to 79.9 lbs 10 & 11 Year Old	3rd	Andrew Franekic
Teen NO-GI Beginner Cruiser Weight 13 to 15 yrs old	1st	Craig Jackson
Teen NO-GI Beginner Cruiser Weight 15 & 16 yrs old	2nd	Craig Jackson
Teen NO-GI Intermediate Cruiser Weight 16 & 17 Year Old	3rd	Rob Rizer
Teen GI Intermediate Cruiser Weight 16 & 17 yrs old	3rd	Rob Rizer

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Walker Denied in Pittsburgh

A disappointing Doctor Stoppage loss marred Donny Walker’s return to the cage in the main event at Pinnacle Fighting Championships.

With his technical boxing, and hard won takedown defense Donny Walker was able to keep Mark Cherico at bay for much of the first round.  But Cherico’s dogged attack broke Walker’s defense and the fight went to the ground.  From there Cherico was pressuring with submissions and elbows, working his standard game to get Donny to give his back.  A solid elbow opened a gash in Walker’s face.  Round 1 ended 10-9 Cherico. 

Round two saw a more aggressive Walker use his boxing to force Cherico to the cage and scored a double leg takedown of his own.  In the scramble the cut on Walker’s face was re-opened and the referee stopped the fight to examine the cut.  The fight doctor intervened and despite the pleas of the crowd to let the fight continue decided the cut met the criteria to end the fight.  Under Unified Rules when a fight is stopped for medical reasons, the fight is awarded to the fighter ahead on points at the time of the stoppage.  The 10-9 score from the first round secured Cherico the win.

Images courtesy of Mike Wrobel at ShootItMMA.com

Written by Bob Donaghy