Relson Gracie Nationals Tournament

Columbus, Ohio

The BJJ Gi & Nogi tournament down in Columbus was a great time. Combined with the Griffonrawl team, we had 10 competitors. Here are the results as I remember them: Jason Dent: Jason won his blue belt gi division with some hard fought matches and an exciting final ending with Jason finishing his opponent with a guillotine. Mike Russo: Mike went 2 and 1 for the day, if I remember correctly, catching his final opponent with a nice footlock from the bottom. Mike took the bronze in his blue belt division. AJ: AJ looked great in his no-gi division and after posting a nice win, had an absolute war with Jamie Toney, who went on to win the division. Lucas Beatty: Lucas had a great tournament. He won the silver in his gi division (though he should have won the gold. . . hooray for unfair refs. . .). Lucas also competed in the no-gi 155 and under division and easily dispatched of his first two opponents to reach the quarterfinals. Lucas bowed out in the next round to Jason Fox, an RGDA brown belt who runs our Indiana affiliate. Darren Branch: Darren took the gold in his gi division and showed some serious takedowns that were the talk of the tournament. He also competed in the no-gi 155 and under division (weighing 135) and lost by sub to Robert Bihn, who ended up taking the division. Pete Sherer: Pete took silver in his first tournament ever. His were some of the most exciting matches of the tournament. Pete came from behind in his first match (he was mounted) and spun for a nice armbar from the bottom to finish the match. Not bad for a 250+ lb'er with only a few months of experience. Steven Grubkin: With only 2 months of training, Steven showed a great deal of heart and awesome defense in his gi and no-gi matches. Everyone was proud to see Steven stay cool under pressure and mount some exciting offense as well. Greg Wallace and Bobby Gilliam: Greg and Bobby both lost their first round matches to very game opponents. Donald Park: I entered the no-gi 155 and under division. I won my first four matches against some tough opponents and ended up facing Robert Bihn in the finals. Robert is a great grappler who runs Gracie Barra Cincinnati. Robert showed great defense against my guard attacks and the match ended up 0-0 after regulation. A sudden death overtime was called and Robert scored the takedown as I was jumping guard, giving him the win. Again, everyone did really well at the tournament and it was great to join forces once again.Written by:Donald Park

World Combat League Contestes 1 & 2

Dallas, Texas

Just returned from Chuck Norris's World Combat League! It was a great show "very professional" and we were treated very well the whole time. I got there on the 5th. Thursday was a busy day filled with interviews, uniform fittings, and pictures. Thursday evening all the teams, staff, etc., got to go out to dinner with Chuck Norris. They talked about future expansion and plans for the WCL. Friday our team, the Los Angeles Stars got together for a workout. The stars consisted of Ben Brotherton, Craig Oxley, Angie Woolum, James Decore, Carlos Tearney, Derek Panza, and myself. Friday evening we went downtown with friend and went to a very nice steakhouse. Downtown Dallas was very crazy due to the Oklahoma vs. Texas game. Saturday We arrived at the Dallas Convention Center around 3:30 pm for some walk throughs and warm-ups. A little after 7pm was kickoff and I was picked to fight first! My opponent was Peyton Russell, he was very tough and a classy guy in and out of the ring. It was a very fast pace and towards the end Peyton was throwing a spinning backfist which landed with his forearm and would split the top of my head open. He would be disqaulified which was a close round up till that point. I was penalized a point for holding. Well I can at least say I fought the first fight in the WCL. Overall I was not totally happy with my performance I was a little too stiff. But it was a new set up for everyone. I hope it will grow and become one of the top team sports!! I have alot of fights on the table right now so I am hoping for a title or a few more title opportunities. I want to thank my coach Mr. Lorenzo Scott as always putting the "BRICKS" on my hands and I know alot of my team enjoyed him as well. I can't wait for the next WCL and hope to get that head kick KO next time. Thanks alot to everyone else as well friends, family, and sponsors!!Written by:Ryan "The Lion" Madigan

King of the Cage "Shock & Awe"

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

KOTC Canada promoter Ken Kupsch, aided by announcer-extraordinaire partner Keith Crawford, invaded the beautiful Canadian city of one million-plus in a supercharged fight card that drew 3500 fans to see a face off between Canada’s best cagefighters and top American invaders highlighted by John “The Natural” Alessio. Also on hand to celebrate the action and throw their support behind KOTC Canada were mixed martial arts celebrities Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Jeremy Horn, and Pat Miletich. While the original card was scheduled for 17 bouts, by the time the Edmonton Boxing Commission had vetted the card due to various technicalities it was reduced to a still-respectable 11 matches. Preliminary Fights Kyle Cheyne (185) from Edmonton started the action against fellow Canadian David Mah (170) from Saskatoon. The fight went to mat early with Mah getting the top mount almost immediately against the fence and absorbing some hard ground and pound. Cheyne finally turned over and was tapped-out via rear naked choke at just 1:01 of the first round. Jessy Lessard (168) of Edmonton then faced Donnie Walker.(155) from the faraway and exotic land (if you’re from Edmonton) of Cleveland, Ohio. The two clinched on the feet quickly, and after some jostling for position went to the ground with Walker getting side control. From here, Walker transitioned to the top mount and rained down punches on Lessard, cutting him. Seeking to block the punishment, Lessard reached up to block, allowing Walker to swing into straight arm bar from the top and the 2:32 get round one submission. Next up, David Rodrique (185) of Edmonton faced Demarques Johnson (185) of Salt Lake City. Johnson immediately took the fight to the ground, got the top mount, and seemed to be in control. Rodrique, however, got a reversal – only to be immediately reversed himself! From here, Johnson unleashed a barrage of devastating top-mount blows, which caused Rodrique to tap at 1:51 of the first round. Mike Newton (170) of Edmonton continued the inter-country rivalry as he took on Elmer Waterhen (170) of Saskatoon. The fight was very even on the feet to start, with perhaps Newton having a slight advantage with several stinging punches. Waterhen turned it around quickly, though, as he landed a leg kick to back Newton up, bull-rushed him to the ground via a leg trip, then landed several powerful hammer fists from the top that caused referee Herb Dean to stop that match for a 1:12 first round TKO. Featured Matches The next match featured Billy “The” Kidd (135) of Newcastle, Indiana against “Slick” Rick McCorkell, originally out of Ontario, Canada but now training and fighting out of Los Angeles (135). Kidd wanted to stand and strike from the beginning and stung the shooting McCorkell several times. Persistence finally paid off, however, as “Slick” finally used his superior ground skills to get the takedown and move to side control, where he landed punches that forced Kidd to turn, giving McCorkell his back. Although Kidd gamely hung tough for nearly a minute, McCorkell worked the choke from the back and finally got the 2:05 tapout in a fast-paced and entertaining match. Both fighters looked good and even though Kidd lost, his aggression and desire to mix it up was not lost on the appreciative crowd Mike Jerrace (170) of Edmonton then entered the cage against Kevin Manderson of Winnipeg (170) with Canadian bragging rights on the line. Jerrace hammered the ring post with rights and lefts before the bell, but when it rang he was surprising tentative. Finally, Manderson took the initiative and slammed Jerrace to the mat several times with thundering throws, finally following him to the mat where he got the full mount and unleashed a barrage of blows. Jerrace tried to hold him in to avoid the blows, but Manderson would not be denied and pounded out an impressive and aggressive first round 2:45 TKO. Josh Kyrejto (155) from Edmonton then went international against opponent Jimmy Boyd (155) of Winchester, Indiana. Boyd clinched and took the fight to the ground against the fence, inside Kyrejto’s guard, who smartly held him in until a referee stand up. They clinched again and Boyd went on top again, getting side control but not throwing very many punches, although he did land several knees. Boyd stood up, was put into the guard, and landed a few punches before passing to side control where they were again stood up. Boyd again got a takedown and then the full mount where he landed effectively before Kryrejto pulled him in at the bell, becoming the first fight of the night to go past the first round. The second started with Boyd picking up Kyrejto and slamming him to the mat where he got immediate full mount, rained down punches, and forced a TKO stoppage by referee Herb Dean at :25 of the second round. Chris Peak (205) of Victoria, BC then met Ron Fields (205) of Cincinnati, Ohio. They went almost immediately to the ground with Peak on top. He was then reversed by Fields, only to have Peak execute his own reverse and end up in side control, where he landed several rib punches and a few blows to the head. Peak eventually stopped punching and started dropping forearms, which hurt Fields and caused him to tap out from the bottom at just 2:38 of the first round. Main Events Mac Danzig (155) from Los Angeles, an experienced and tough fighter who trains with John Alessio, then met Frank Kimse (160) of Dallas, Texas in a match far, far from home for them both. Kimsee tried a jumping kick to open the fight which sent Danzig backwards with Kimsee clinching, but Danzig quickly reversed him, got on top against the fence, and landed a punishing ground flurry. Kimsee covered up and resisted, but eventually had had to turn over where Danzig locked in the rear naked choke for the 1:45 round one tap-out. Jason Dent (145) from Cleveland, OH then faced Brandon Garner (145) of North Carolina. The two feinted with each other for nearly a minute before Dent shot in and took Garner down, inside the guard. Garner held him in effectively, but Dent walked him into the fence where Garner launched an arm-lock attack which he then transitioned into a triangle. Dent tried to punch his way out of the lock, but Garner had it cranked tight and got the 2:49 first round tap-out win. John Alessio (175) of Los Angeles, in the main event, the met Savant Young (180), also of Los Angeles, coached by Bo Hershberger, who had taken the match on very short notice. The slow first round mainly consisted of circling and feinting and although Alessio did counter, Young threw most of the initial punches. Young started fast in the second, but Alessio took him down and tried to get to his back. Young countered well and eventually stood up, where he was pressed against the fence by Alessio, who held him there without a lot of action from either fighter. The lack of pre-fight conditioning started to show from Young as the second round wore on, as his attacks slowed and Alessio picked up the pace. When Young tried a big overhand right, Alessio took him to the mat, worked to his back, and had the rear choke locked in as the bell rang, saving Young from the sure submission. The third started with an Alessio takedown, where he got inside Young’s guard and landed several good blows, although Young was effective in blocking many. Young, looking exhausted, turned to his back and Alessio worked for the rear choke, landing several punches to the head in the process. After a game and gutsy performance, Young finally succumbed to the rear naked choke from the precise and very technical Alessio at 2:09 of the third round. Conclusion For the previous fight in Edmonton, KOTC had drawn 4500 fans and would have been a cinch to exceed that number had it not been for the “Audio Slave” rock concert, next to the KOTC venue, that pre-sold 12,000 tickets! As it was, they still drew a very respectable 3,500 fans to the 5,000 seat venue. TSN (the Canadian equivalent of ESPN) was on hand to tape the show and they plan on broadcasting regular KOTC Canada e vents, which should make it explode in popularity. Perhaps the savior of the night was Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. When it was announced to the crowd that six of the original 17 bouts had been cancelled, they started to boo heavily. At this point, “Rampage” jumped up from his ringside seat, ripped off his shirt, started flexing, and then ran into the audience slapping high-fives up and down the rows! The booing immediately turned to cheers and the event went on as scheduled. Found on:http://www.sherdog.com/

Chris Brennan No-Gi BJJ & MMA Seminar

Mentor, Ohio

Chris Brennan returned to our academy and put on another successful seminar. This seminar was just as good as the first time Chris was here and we were able to cover a good amount of material in the four hours we had. We got to work on various types of takedowns, submissions, and even spent a little time on striking. Towards the end of the seminar Chris took the time to roll with each participant and made sure to tap everybody out. The day wrapped up with little Q&A followed by group pictures and a couple people getting autographs. For those of you who don't know who Chris "The Westside Strangler" Brennan is he is a former KOTC Middleweight Champ, Pride vet, UFC vet, ADCC vet, BJJ Black Belt, and runs his own academy in California called Team Next Generation. P.S. Look for Chris to possible return for another seminar sometime in 2006. Also anyone who attended this seminar and had their pic taken with Chris I have those saved on my PC and if you would like them you need to e-mail me at jdent@alltel.net. Just ask I will be happy to send any pics with you in them from the seminar right to you. Written by:Jason Dent

GFS "Fight Nite in the Flats 1"

Cleveland, Ohio

The stars aligned just in time for new Gladiators Fighting Series Promoter Greg Kalikas as the rain stopped as hoped and his Gladiators MMA event "Fight Nite in the Flats" blew the collective roofs off the Scene Pavilion with an array of explosive, jam packed fights this past Saturday night along the river in Cleveland, Ohio's famed "Flats" entertainment district.Presented by McCarthy's Ale House, BetOnFighting.com and BetCris.com, the tight, slick production choreographed by Kalikas produced one of the bests nights of MMA fighting action in Cleveland ever. From the first bout on, the intensity level just kept rising.The location or the weather couldn't have been better, as the ultramodern outdoor (open, but covered) amphitheater provided the perfect backdrop for an amazing night of mixed martial arts fighting in "the cage." With temperatures in the mid 70's and a beautiful breeze blowing through, Kalikas took a gamble on Mother Nature and won.Led off by an "Awesome Amateurs" undercard that produced some sizzling exchanges, the crowd was treated to nothing but in your face, joint popping tap outs, toe-to-toe Thaistyle shin kicks, gut wrenching knee strikes and crisp, powerful punching. When these fighters went to the canvas they usually went down hard, the action never subsided though and eventually many of the bouts ended by arm bars and choke outs.The Torrance "The Tyrant" Taylor vs. "Bad' Josh Barden hard fought bout that rounded out the undercard perfectly set the tone for what was to come on the pro side. Taylor and Barden faced off in a mostly stand-up 3 rounder that saw Barden losing when the referee stopped the bout midway through the 3rd round after Taylor connected with Barden's right eye one punch too many.Barden was an extremely tough comer, but Taylor dished out a ton of punishment and after the bout, one could see that the Ohio State Athletic Commission referee made the right call because quitting wasn't an option for Josh Barden. Watch for both of these talented young guns on future Gladiators Fighting Series MMA shows as Taylor and Barden are two fighters to remember.The pro bouts definitely didn't disappoint on this night, as the show rolled on flawlessly paced by celebrity Ring Announcer and 4-Time World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion Duke Roufus along with the organizational group led by Jake Digman and the Fight Nite crew who performed with military precision. The crowd got into the action all the way, but stayed off each other as no problems were reported by any of the many police who came out to watch and enjoy the show. The fighting in the cage was obviously too good to miss.The crowd was especially out in force and loud and proud for local favorites Jason "Dynamite" Dent and Jeff Cox. Fight Nite's Main Event between Ben "Berzerker" Rothwell and Allan Weickert lasted less than 1 round, but it was a tasty round if your diet consists of eating jabs and upper cuts with Rothwell serving as chef tonight.Weickert should be commended though for taking the fight in the first place as Rothwell towered over him by a good 6 inches and more than a few pounds. When Weickert went to the canvas for the last time, Rothwell unleashed a barrage of punches the rendered Weickert unable to sustain any more damage from Rothwell's bombardment and the referee stepped in to affirm the fact. Rothwell's flying knee that landed on a collapsing Weickert along the way helped seal the deal in the end.Weickert did all he could and took it to Rothwell with a smile on his face, never backing down. In the end Rothwell overwhelmed a tough-as-nails opponent that on paper he easily should have beat, and he did - taking nothing away from Weickert and his gritty attempt or Rothwell's smart, patient style that led to his victory. It was a worthy main event that produced a decent amount of fireworks in it's short existence, but in the end Rothwell's size and experience was a bit too much for Weickert to stomach.All of the planned celebrity appearances came off without a hitch, as well, with stars Rich Franklin and George Gurgel from Spike TV's reality hit "The Ultimate Fighter" television show in attendance along with WWE's "Tough Enough" reality show winner Dan Puder, UFC star Wes "The Project" Sims and Pride fighter Dan Bobish. In a classy move, each were presented with plaques during a special ceremony before the main event and were warmly received by their minions.If Kalikas' Gladiators promotions keep going the way the first one went, Clevelanders with an appetite for great MMA are definitely in the right place at the right time as "Fight Nite in the Flats" was an overserving of one great MMA bout after another. Look for additional Gladiators MMA shows at the Scene in 2006."Fight Nite in the Flats" is additionally sponsored by SportstalkNetwork.com, Celtic Media Group, The T-Spot, House of Pain and the Pizza & Calzone Company.Watch for official "Fight Nite in the Flats" results and expanded write-up coming shortly.For more information regarding Gladiators Fighting Series MMA in the leveland area, contact: Greg Kalikas (330) 324-3034.Complete Fight Nite in the Flats Results Preliminary BoutsMatt Brown over Evan Sarnicki - TKO 2:22 rd 2Matt Masterson over Damien Parker – RNC 0:37 rd 1Casey Leonard over Walt Felix – TKO 2:38 rd 1Clint Zeedyk over Eric Truckovich – TKO 0:54 rd 1Torrance “The Tyrant” Taylor over Josh Barden – KO 1:26 rd 3Featured Pro BoutsJason “Steeltown” Taylor over Derek Collins – Armbar 2:58 rd 1Mike Bogner over Tommy “Gun” Ridenbaugh – TKO 0:31 rd 2Mitch Whitesel over Mark Miller – Kimura 0:58 rd 1Jason “Dynamite” Dent over Josh “Bam Bam” Souder – TKO (ref stoppage-cut) 1:57 rd 2Josh Hendricks over Joey Smith – RNC 2:44 rd 1Rob “The Bullrider” Wince over Greg Franklin – Guillotine 0:38 rd 1Jeff Cox over Braden Workman – choke 4:20 rd 1Ben “Berzerker” Rothwell over Allan Weickert – TKO 3:45 rd 1Written by:Scott Joffe

Kit Cope seminar a HUGE SUCCESS !

Mentor, Ohio

This being only our second seminar in genaral at our Academy I think it went extremely well. After having to change the date from August 21st to September 11th you would have thought that we would have had a much smaller attendance. The attendance for this seminar was 28 people including Kit and his assistant Shawn. It's a good thing we changed the date for the seminar because we originally had 32 people signed up and we were pretty packed in there when we were shadow boxing. Everyone who attended the seminar got alot of training tips, techniques, and a great workout to boot.The seminar flew by even though it was 4hrs long and almost the entire group from the seminar went out to dinner following it to hang out and mingle a bit. Below you will see that I have included some of the pics that you saw us taking at the seminar and if you had your picture taken with Shawn Yarbough or Kit Cope then please e-mail requesting it and I would be happy to send it to you.Special thanks to Kit and Shawn for doing a fantastic job. Everybody learned alot of great stuff at the seminar and had lots of fun. Good luck to Shawn in his future fights and good luck to Kit who is sheduled to face Kenny Florian in the UFC on Spike TV in November. For more info or pics with Kit Cope please visit his official site at http://www.kitcope.com/Written by:Jason Dent

North League Extreme Kickboxing 4

Akron, Ohio

Originally on this show we were to have both Aaron "Juice" Veverka, and "Big" Ben Parks representing our team. Ben trained very hard and was in great shape leading up to his fight only to have not one but two guys cancel out on fighting him. So it ended up just being "Juice" from our team taking on Aaron Fisher out of the Tiger Pit from Toledo. Veverka and Fisher were the main event and had an all out war for 5rds of intense action. The fight had a little bit of everything but always seemed to end up in the clinch where both fighters stayed very active showing what a Thai fighter is supposed to do in the clinch. In end both fighter seemed like they could of fought a sixth round but the judges had already made thier decision. The decision was a split decision in the favor of Aaron Fisher who fought a smart fight and deserved the W.Do not be fooled by Veverka's record as he has only been put away once and that was his first fight ever. Since that first fight Veverka has had nothing but tough fights and close decison wars like every time. "Juice" keeps getting better and better every time and as soon as he starts putting together a good string of wins I really don't see any reason that he could'nt go Pro in the next two years.Written by:Jason Dent

International Combat Event 16

Cincinatti, Ohio

The 16th installment of ICE MMA may have been the best to date. Fight fans from across the region packed the Metropolis Nite club to witness a card which featured thirteen action packed bouts along with appearances from UFC and TUF stars Rich Franklin and Jorge Gurgel.Kicking off the night's action were two lightweights both making their MMA debuts. Josh Burton of the well respected GriffonRawl team of Cleveland took aim at ICE newcomer Thomas Hayden, who came in with primarily a wrestling background. Hayden was unable to capitalize on initial takedown as Burton showed fans that he came to fight while surviving an early Hayden flurry, however a second scramble left Burton with no choice but to give Hayden his back which would be a costly mistake. Hayden finished the fight at 1:49 of rd 1 via RNC. Hayden would go on to win the four man lightweight tourney that night. If you would like to view the results of this show it is recommended that you go to http://www.fcfighter.com/ click news and then search it out in thier fighter database.On a personal note Josh is a warrior and I am very proud of him stepping in thier I would have like to have seen him get alot more free rolling and sparring in before having competed but it was his only oportunity to compete before returning to college for the fall. Josh will be back and ready to do it again I am sure and next time he will be victorious.Written by:Jason Dent

Training in Vegas with Master Toddy, Kit Cope, and Ricardo Pires !

Las Vegas, Nevada

When you think about 48 hours in Las Vega$ you think of all of Sin City’s endless attractions. Well our 48 hours were filled with training and training and MORE training.Our training adventure began as soon as we got off the plane in the 110-degree heat of Las Vega$. We began a two hour training session with Kit Cope (http://www.kitcope.com/) Kit is a product of Master Toddy’s and also has his own gym located in Las Vega$. Kit is a four time World Kickboxing Champion, a Thai bare knuckle Champion and an MMA fighter. We worked on a number of blocks, kicks, and punching combos. We also worked on some cool Thai takedowns and off balancing maneuvers. Kit is coming to the GriffonRawl Academy Sunday August 21st for a 4-hour seminar.That evening we ventured over to Master Toddy’s Gym for a private lesson (http://www.mastertoddy.com/) Master Toddy’s has to be one of the nicest Thai gyms in the country. Our private lesson was with Master Luck Chang. We worked on punches, kicks, the Cobra, and blocking. The instructors at Toddy’s are some of the worlds finest; to have them hold pads for you is an incredible experience. The next day we returned to Master Toddy’s for a 7am group Kickboxing class.Wednesday afternoon was also action packed as we started out early meeting Diego Sanchez of TUF at the UFC training Center. We had a private lesson arranged with Diego but it had to be cancelled since they were filming interviews for the next Ultmate Fighter series in the building we were at and we could not get in. Diego then invited us to come out and train with him at his academy in New Mexico. We plan to take him up on his offer sooner or later.Later that day we went to Las Vega$ Combat Club. The instructors, Ricardo Pires and Sergio Pehna are true Brazilian warriors. LVCC was an awesome experience! We got to take a private in a cage, and then attended their group classes on the mats. We got to free roll with some of Las Vegas’ finest. We practiced some great techniques: failed arm bar attempts into a triangle, and much-much-more. Frank Mir was also getting back into shape at LVCC and we got to talk with him and watch him do some sparring and grappling drills. The four hours at LVCC were truly an education, and well spent.Our 48 hours in Vega$ were certainly action packed. Written by:Rich Catalano

Pablo Popovitch No-Gi BJJ Seminar

Macedonia, Ohio

Jason and Rich had the pleasure of a private lesson and seminar with Pablo Popovitch. Pablo is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor and competitor. He trains out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at American Top Team. Chris Chard (www.ohiobjjc.com/) operates a BJJ school in Macedonia and brought Pablo in for the weekend.Pablo recently placed number 2 in his division at the ADCC in Long Beach, California. The ADCC (www.adcombat.com/) is by invitation only. The worlds best submission grapplers meet in the annual event to show off their skills and roll with the masters in the sport. Pablo was ranked #7 before the competition, but finished just behind Marcelo Garcia who won the ADCC in 2004. Garcia was ranked number 1 going into the event so Pablo had an impressive showing for his first year competing with the best of the best. The first hour lesson was spent working anything we asked. Pablo showed great insight and skill. He has not competed in MMA but still showed us a great many ways to escape from the mount in an MMA event or submission-grappling match. The key to learning BJJ is repeating the moves you learn over and over. You can never over “drill” any move or technique.The two-hour no-gi seminar covered some great techniques. We spent some time on getting up from the bottom, butterfly guard, and multiple submissions. The highlight of the seminar was a triple submission attempt. Going from a triangle, to an arm bar, to a knee bar. The speed and agility involved in the move is completely amazing. The two-hour seminar went very quickly. We came away with some great ideas that will be presented in class, and most of all even more motivation than one can imagine from a world-class instructor and competitor. Thanks to Chris Chard and Pablo Popovitch.Written by:Rich Catalano