Pros Pick: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3

Adapted from Sherdog.com

The two best heavyweights on the planet will converge in the center of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Octagon for a third time, as champion Cain Velasquez battles Junior dos Santos in the UFC 166 main event on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Dos Santos dethroned the American Kickboxing Academy ace with a 64-second knockout at UFC on Fox 1 in November 2011. Velasquez, however, reclaimed his title with a lopsided unanimous decision at UFC 155 a little more than a year later. Now, they meet again to settle the score.

Sherdog.com touched base with a number of professional fighters and trainers to gauge their opinions on the UFC 166 headliner:

Jason Dent: I’m going with Cain on this one. Cain’s striking is just as good as JDS’s. However, his wrestling and intense pace will be too much for Junior in the rubber match. The first match ended too quickly, but their second meeting showed who the better fighter was, as Cain dominated from start to finish.

For the rest of the pro's picks, click HERE

Adapted by: Bob Donaghy

Combat Challenge 25 Review

Ahmad Douglas Makes a Knockout Debut

Last Saturday, October 5th, NAAFS held the 25th show in their Combat Challenge series.  The event was in Akron's Chapparell's Community Center and featured 14 amateur fights.  At least that was the plan.  JJ Offak and Ahmad Douglas were to fight for GriffonRawl on the all amateur card, but JJ had the misfortune of seeing three opponents come and go before fight night.  In the end, with only 48 hours notice, he was left without an opponent, and Ahmad became the sole representative of GriffonRawl.  But Ahmad fought brilliantly, winning his debut fight by TKO at 1:00 of the first round.

This is what cornerman Chuck Schilling had to say, (Ahmad) "was winning the standup, then hit a double, lifted and brought him to our corner.  Mounted until he rolled, put in hooks and punched until it ended"   The picture says it all.

Congratulation Ahmad on a terrific debut and welcome to the GriffonRawl Fight Team.

Full card results:

Josh Paulus defeats John Mumaw, TKO round one (1:00)
Ahmad Douglas defeats Jason Stull, TKO round one (1:00)
Scottie Moritz defeats Geoff Salyers, unanimous decision
Seth Shaffer defeats Ray Gillies, unanimous decision
Cody Tominak defeats Hassan Crutcher, unanimous decision
Nick Foxhuber defeats Fadi Shuman, RNC round two (1:20)
Jeff Hughes defeats James Bunn, RNC round 2 (1:17)
Josh Krizan defeats Caleb Fickert, unanimous decision
Jerrell Hodge defeats Cheyne Jenkins, arm triangle round two (0:55)
JT Miller defeats Cory Bresson, TKO round one (1:24)
Nick Browne defeats Izzy William, unanimous decision
RJ Buck defeats Tobiaus Taylor, armbar round 3 (2:43)

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Combat Conditioning Classes Expanding and Moving

In response to popular demand GR's Combat Conditioning program is moving to Tuesday & Thursday nights from 5:30-6:30pm starting the 1st week of October.  It will run in the same time slot as our very popular Jr. MMA program.

Thomas Salvatore, owner of YDM Fitness on Tyler Blvd, is in charge of the expanded classes.  A long time member of the GR family, he will be bringing his expertise and experience to GriffonRawl. 

Combat Conditioning will increase your strength, improve your cardio, burn fat, and improve your overall health. The program is mostly body weight exercises and can be easily modified to your needs if you are limited.  Thomas is fully qualified to make any adjustments you may need.

This is a 'go at your own pace' program, so do not feel the need to push yourself past YOUR Limits. You can make this extremely tough or make it a good workout. It will depend on your fitness level.  Our goal is to to see everyone have a great time and has fun getting fit.

Equipment/Gear needed - Work out clothes that you don't mind getting soaked with sweat.  That's it!

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GriffonRawl Adds Classes to New Life Church

As part of GriffonRawl's commitment to expand it's operations and support in the community.Jason Dent is conducting one hour MMA/Fitness Classes at the  private school operated by the New Life Church in Perry at 11:30 on Tuesdays.  The classes are part of the curriculum of the school and are a mix of general fitness, mixed martial arts and self defense. 

New Life Church
4080 Call Rd, Perry, OH  44081
(440) 259-3850 voice
(440) 259-3849 fax

http://www.newlifeinchrist.com/index.php/contact



View Larger Map

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Dan Rawlings Seminar Sells Out!

Last Saturday the founder of GriffonRawl came back to his roots and delivered back to back sold out seminars.  The Dan Rawlings seminar last Saturday delivered elite level instruction to all who attended.

Though the mats were full for both two hour sessions.  Each student had time with Dan, getting one on one training in Muay Thai and boxing.  Those who couldn't make it missed out on great training opportunity.  But do not despair, the plan is to have Dan back again in  May, June, or July.

After the seminar much of the group went to GriffonRawl's sponsor sports bar The Happy Moose for drinks and dinner.  As usual the Moose provided a good time for all.

SPECIAL THANKS to our sponsors for this weekends Dan "Tanis" Rawlings Boxing & Muay Thai seminar. Thank you Happy Moose Bar and Grill, Intimidation Clothing, Rock House, Action Automotive, & East Mentor Family Chiropractic!!!

 Written by: Bob Donaghy

Vanyo Kickboxing Smoker Results

Unlike the first Vanyo kickboxing smoker where we sent just one fighter (Khalil Khalil), this time we sent six fighters and a good crowd of supporters.  Thank you to Tim Stafford, Paul Compton, Russ Herbert, Khalil Khalil, Jon-David Reeves, and George Comer for stepping up and representing the academy so well.

Smokers are for fun and experience, the results are not recorded and do not become part of a fighter's record.  The GR crew made the trip to Strongsville last Friday night for the 2nd Vanyo Kickboxing Smoker of 2013.  The GR team covered the range of experience at GR from seasoned pros like George Comer to first time fighters like Russ Herbert.  Vanyo had their own well prepared team in place and invited one of the newer gyms in the area, The Wrestling Factory, to participate.  The event ran very smoothly, and the gym was packed with an enthusiastic crowd.

It was a night of surprises and great performances... Russ's high kick KO win out of nowhere was THE strike of the night in any fight, Comer's come from behind win over a much more experienced opponent (a former Lebanese national champion) was a lesson in conditioning and pressure, but Tim Stafford's overall performance was the demonstration of guts for the night.  Tim's first fight led off the event, and he won a tough decision.  He had under two hours to recover and fought a fresh opponent literally half his age and took him to a decision too.

Khalil Khalil and Jon Reeves had terrific back and forth fights with their opponents, and while the decisions didn't go in their favor, both fights could easily have gone the other way.  One of the differences between smokers and  official fights is that smokers use only one judge, so sometimes you get results that you may not agree with. 

Everyone fought well, everyone has reason to be proud of each man that fought and the entire team.  They represented the academy well and showed what team work and good training can do. 

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Jeff Offak Promoted to BJJ Blue Belt

GriffonRawl and its Jiu-Jitsu program is pleased to announce that on Wednesday (Sept 4th), Head BJJ Instructor, Jeff Starr, promoted Jeff Offak to Blue Belt.  Jeff has been working steadily towards his belt since joining GriffinRawl.  He comes to class, competes regularly in grappling events, and is diligent and focused in his training.  Jeff's hard work will reward him beyond the BJJ mat, he will be representing GR in MMA as soon as his debut can be arranged.

If you get a chance, take a moment to congratulate Jeff on his hard work and achievement.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Pros Pick Henderson v Pettis

Every UFC PPV Sherdog runs an article which asks a number of pro fighters to give their prediction on the main event.  Jason Dent is a frequent contributor to the series.

From Sherdog.com

One formidable obstacle stands between Benson Henderson and his becoming the first man to ever successfully defend the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown four times.

Henderson will put his 155-pound title on the line against Anthony Pettis, the last man to defeat him, in the UFC 164 main event on Saturday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Pettis outpointed Henderson under the World Extreme Cagefighting banner in December 2010, springing off the cage for his unforgettable “Showtime” kick and sealing a unanimous decision in the decisive fifth round.

Sherdog.com touched base with a number of professional fighters and trainers to gauge their opinions on the UFC 164 headliner:

Jason Dent: I always pick a winner, but I’m torn on this one, honestly. I like Pettis’ style more, but with the injuries and the distractions he had cutting weight to fight Jose Aldo, I’m afraid it may affect his performance. Henderson has been getting better with each fight and has gone five hard rounds a couple times now already. If there is a finish in this fight, it will be for Pettis, and if it goes the distance, it will be in favor of Henderson.

For the rest of the story on Sherdog, click HERE

Adapted by: Bob Donaghy

NAAFS Rock and Rumble 7 Results

Jason coaching Joe between rounds

Saturday August 24th delivered uncharacteristically fine weather for NAAFS 7 edition of Rock N' Rumble.  An event that's been plagued by sweltering heat and humidity and even near horozontal rain enjoyed near perfect fight weather.  Perhaps NAAFS got the hard part out of the way getting to fight day. The show suffered an unusual number of cancellations and last minute withdrawls making Greg Kalikas work overtime to pull the show together.  But he did it, and by all accounts it was a successful night with a near sellout of Jacob Pavilion and even a few suprising results to the fights.  But the last minute good luck for the show did not carry over to the two GriffonRawl fighters on the card. 

Joe Callari's record drops to 6-6 with his 3rd round submission loss to Eric Bledsoe (3-0 now).  Ironically, Joe was dominating the standup portion of the fight, and the former Toughman champ from Virginia, Bleadsoe, controlled the ground.  Unfortunately, in the third round, Bledsoe was able to lock in a arm triangle and Joe was forced to tap at 2:18.  Antony Disantis' fight was difficult, it was a back and forth war, and , according to some, possibly  the best fight on the undercard.  Neither fighter was able to finsih, and the judges had nearly as much trouble arriving finally at a split decision (29-8, 28-29, 29-28) for Tony's opponent, Zack Trout.  It's difficult to critisize either fighter when clearly both gave everything they had and even the judges couldnl't come to a clean decision. 

Both Tony and Joe are warriors, and while their pride is hurt, they know as a Team we win and lose as a Team, and they can count, as everyone on the Team can, on the full support of GriffonRawl as they work advance their skills.

Full results of the card (win/lose record includes RnR results)

Winner	Loser	Method	Round	Time
Jason Alexander (2-0)	Floyd Cisco (0-1)	Unan Dec	3
Nick Foxhuber (6-1)	Aaron McGraw (3-3)	Sub (RNC)	1	0:35
Tobiaus Taylor (3-0)	Adken Torchia (1-1)	Split Dec	3
Cheyne Jenkins (6-1)	Aaron Neighbors (7-5)	TKO	2	2:32
Bhrandon Poindexter (7-9)	Zach Forrester (2-5)	Unan Dec	3
Hassan Crutcher (3-0)	Steve Stocker (2-1)	Unan Dec	3
Eric Bledsoe (3-0)	Joe Callari (6-6)	Sub (arm triangle)	3	2:18
Scottie Weaver (7-3)	Rockey Clark (4-9)	Sub (strikes)	1	1:22
Zack Trout (3-0)	Anthony Disantis (2-2)	Split Dec	3
Darion Peterson (1-0)	Lillo General (1-1)	TKO	2	2:33
Nick Browne (8-1)	Corey Dulaney (5-1)	Sub (arm triangle)	1	1:35
Dave Vandevelde (1-2)*	Chris Tucker (0-1)	Sub (RNC)	1	4:10
Antonio Castillo Jr. (7-4)*	Brett Ewing (4-4)	TKO	2	0:58
Elias Theodorou (8-0)*	Travis Clark (7-2)	TKO	2	5:00
Josh Stansbury (5-2)*	John Hawk (8-5)	Unan Dec	3

Written by: Bob Donaghy

World Kickboxing Seminar with Grandmaster Bob Chaney

GR's Jason Dent and Russ Herbert attended the Muay Thai seminar at Ryan Madigan's World Kickboxing Academy down in Stow, Ohio on Saturday August 17th.  GR Instructors are always attending Seminars & Camps to get fresh ideas/insight from some of the worlds best to continually better our gym.

The seminar featured instruction by Grandmaster Bob Chaney and ran for 3 hours. Over 20 students were given personal instruction by one of the greatest living Masters of the art. WKA runs seminars throughout the year, and they're worth attending.

Russ Herbert, Grandmaster Bob Chaney, Jason Dent, Ryan Madigan

Written by:  Bob Donaghy