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 - Intimidation co-branded shirts on Sale at the Academy in Time for Christmas!

Swing by the Academy to pre-order our new Co-branded GriffonRawl – Intimidation shirts! The tee is the first co-branded shirt from the two companies and joins the co-branded beanies and bags that have been for sale at the gym over the past three years.

The shirt honors the long relationship Intimidation has had with the academy sponsoring Jason Dent, Donny Walker, as well as top MMA prospect George Comer.  Along with sponsoring the gym’s pro fighters, Intimidation has been a sponsor of GriffonRawl amateur fighters for the past three years.  GriffonRawl is also an official Intimidation Clothing dealer, and along with the new GriffonRawl tee, both Jason Dent and Donny Walker have their own signature tees available for sale at the gym and online at IntimidationClothing.com.

Intimidation Clothing is a fast-growing brand of MMA apparel & training gear based in Ohio with a strong presence throughout the Midwest USA and a growing national presence regularly being featured on multiple sporting events on MTV2, FUEL TV, EpixHD, AXS TV and SportsTime Ohio as well as MMA highlight shows on Spike TV and HDNet/AXS TV. In addition to over 70 styles of high-quality, bold t-shirts and sweatshirts for men, women and children. The company is also becoming known for their premium-quality EliteFighter MMA board shorts, as well as vale tudo shorts, rashguards and more available online at IntimidationClothing.com  Fans can like the Intimidation brand on Facebook and follow Intimidation on Twitter.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Four More Belt Promotions at GriffonRawl

Last Sunday after the seminar, and before dinner, Master Relson Gracie promoted five GriffonRawl members another level in belt rank.

Phil Schenk & Donny Walker were promoted to Purple Belts and GR assistant Jiu-Jitsu Instructor Paul Rehbergar and GR Owner Jason Dent were elevated to Brown Belts.  When you see Phil, Donny, Paul and Jason, be sure to congratulate them on their hard work and achievement.

It's been a great Summer for promotions at GriffonRawl.  Showing up to class and doing the work pays off!

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Another Great Gracie Seminar is in the Books

Relson Gracie returned to GriffonRawl last Saturday for another great seminar.  This is his first visit to GriffonRawl since Head Jiu-Jitsu Instructor Jeff Starr was awarded his Black Belt.  Eighteen attended the two hour session.  It was good to see one or two members who have been absent for too long.

Master Gracie opened with self defense techniques and ended with material any pro fighter would want to have in their arsenal. 

Following the seminar part of the group headed to Cleats in Mentor for some grub and hung out.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Jr MMA Throwdown Thursday

GR's Jr. MMA class had it's own "Thursday ThrowDown" last night. After warm ups, stretching, and some instruction we matched the kids up according to size and experience and let them have some FUN!

GR's Jr. MMA program is for kids between ages 7 - 14years old. Usually if they’re 14 years old and up we put them in one of our adult programs with a parents consent of course.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Madigan Seminar Brings a Crowd Ready to Fight

We always bring in top level fighters and instructors from around the world to share their knowledge and experience with everyone here at GR, and this weekend's  Advanced Boxing/Advanced Muay Thai seminar was no exception.  This was Ryan Madigan's second  GR seminar, and it was as successful as the first.  The photos show the great turnout, and everyone benefited from the detailed training Ryan provides.

 Left to right Donny Walker, Steve from Evolve MMA, Jason Dent, & of course Ryan Madigan. 

Very cool of Steve and Ryan to show up to conduct the seminar sporting a Donny Walker & Jason Dent Intimidation Clothing t-shirts.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Jason Dent and Donny Walker in the Inaugural Class for the NAAFS Hall of Fame

NAAFS first Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be on August 17th during Rock n' Rumble.  It's a long list of names covering NAAFS first 7 years, but two of GriffonRawl's own figure prominently in that history and are, of course, included.

Jason Dent, is the only member of the inaugural class to be inducted in two categories: Fighter and Trainer. The former NAAFS lightweight champion dominated his division in the NAAFS from 2005 to 2012, brought attention to NE Ohio MMA with his stint on The Ultimate Fighter and competed and won in the UFC.  Dent is also the co-founder and head trainer at GriffonRawl MMA Academy in Mentor, Ohio home of many NAAFS amateur and professional champions.

Donny Walker, is recognized for winning multiple “Fight of the Night” and “Fight of the Year” awards.  The former pro NAAFS featherweight champion, is a UFC veteran and Team GriffonRawl standout with a 7-2 as a professional record in the NAAFS while fighting a Who’s Who of opponents.

The induction ceremony will be held on Friday, August 17, 2012 as part of the 6th Annual Rock n Rumble at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica.  Induction will begin before the first fight at approximately 5:45 pm.  Inductees will be available for autograph signing of the Official 2012 Hall of Fame Event Program throughout the evening.  Come done the the fights and support MMA and GriffonRawl!

NAAFS Announcement HERE

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

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}

UFC Fight Night New Orleans 9/17/2011

The Fight Night in New Orleans was Donny Walker's second UFC appearance in 2011. This time he was matched up with strong wrestler Ken Stone.

The fight opened with Donny showing some standup advantage. A leg kick from Stone lands low and they restart. Walker continues to show advantage standing. They close and Stone takes the action to the cage wall. Stone traps Donny's arm and trips him. Donny briefly stands up and is tripped again. Stone gets his hooks in and secures a Rear Naked Choke . Walker refuses to tap and is choked out

Written by Bob Donaghy