Welcome Two More Warriors to the Team!

Wednesday night, Sept 17, Jason Dent had the all too rare pleasure of inducting a new member to the fight team, and this time not  one, but two fighters had made the cut.  Kevin McCallion and Nikolai Gionti won their fights at the Sept 6th Explosive  Fight Promotions show in Ridgewood, OH fulfilling the requirements for team membership.

This was Kevin’s second cage fight, but his first under the GR banner.  He won by utter domination and GnP in the firts round.

Nikolai had to overcome some seriously bad luck with opponents backing out at the last moment, but the 4th time was the charm and his man stood his ground (only to lose by RNC in the 3rd round), and Nickolai has finally had his name added to the fighter roster.

Unlike many MMA gyms, membership on the GR fight team is not granted by simply keeping up with membership dues, you not only have to fight your right to try out, but but win in the cage as well.  Be sure to congratulate Kevin and Nikolai when you see them around the academy on their accomplishment.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GR Rumbles to Wins at Ridgewood

A good number of the GR family made the near two hour drive to Ridgewood HS, and those that did were rewarded with a well organized and run all amateur event.  They also were treated to three GR warriors making their cage debut for the academy.  All three faced men with more experience.  Jason felt it was necessary to take the chance of such unequal matchups because we’ve had some bad luck this year with opponents backing out at literally the last minute.  The gamble paid off: all three fights happened, and two out of the three went in our favor.

Kevin McCallion was up first for GR against Tyler Cavalear (145)  McCallion opened aggressively, landing several good shots, his opponent covered up and McCallion took the opening to move in for a takedown, gets full mount and opens up with hard punches. Cavalear verbally taps moments later.

William Sutton fought Criston Williams (205).  It was described as a real dogfight.  Very competitive.  Advantage was traded back and forth several times in each round, and the fight nearly went the distance.  Scott Corbin has to be congratulated on good matchmaking. Sutton was caught in a Rear Naked Choke midway through round 3.  Jason says he will be placed in another fight sooner rather than later as he is ready for the cage.

Nikolai Gionti vs Aaron Woods (135) finished the evening on a strong note for GR.  Woods has 3 fights to NG’s 0.  Nick dominated the stand up, but Woods is very tough and athletic.  Nick  ran through a textbook of submissions and Wood would not tap.   He kept escaping and dumping Nick in spectacular throws, Nick would spin through to place another submission, or try a submission from the bottom, every time Wood would escape and stand again.  In round 3 Nick had top position, instead of going directly to submission, decided to Ground and Pound, Wood turned and gave his back and Nick sinks the Rear Naked Choke for the win.

These three GR youngbloods are proof that you don’t have to wait for the academy pros to be matched up to make a drive to see exciting fights.  Expect to see Kevin and Nick inducted to the GR Fight Team this week - but don’t forget you have to be at the academy to see it happen.

Our thanks to Explosive Fight Promotions for inviting us to compete, every event has been better than the last and we look forward to fighting on more cards soon.  Special thanks to Scott Corbin, the EFP matchmaker, for his perseverance in getting these matchups done.  And finally thanks to Mike Wrobel for letting us use his images in this article.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Gionti Wins by Intimidation Choke at Caged Madness

Caged Madness was, by all accounts, a very successful event.  Well attended, well run, professional job by all - except one person.  GR’s Nikolai Gionti was left standing at the threshold of fighting once again.  This time his opponent had the stones to at least make the venue, weigh in, and show up to fight.   But as his entrance music played he was seen exiting the building, leaving Nick standing in the cage.  They say a win is a win, but this can’t feel good.  Nick had this to say on his Facebook page.

Warming up

Well, I can't make this up. We weighed in and he was heavy. I agreed to fight him at 139 lbs. It took me being fully dressed and stuffed with items in my pockets in order to get that heavy. We got back to the venue and he was there. We both showed up to the fighter meeting and I got fully wrapped. Our fight was announced and his entrance music played, but he didn't show up. We waited through his entire song for him to come, but he never did. Instead he was out in the parking lot refusing to fight. I like to respect my opponent, but this is absurd. Steve Paugh should never be allowed to fight again in any commission in any state. That is all. I'll be back and hopefully I'll have an opponent.

Nick is one of the hardest training of the new blood in the gym.  He’s earned and deserves his shot at being a full team member.  Jason will move quickly to find him another fight.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GR Team Smokes it in Stowe

WKA’s first smoker of 2014 was another well run event.  The fighters were well matched and all the fights were competitive making for a great night for everyone.  GR’s longtime friend, Ryan Madigan did a great job organizing and running the event.

While we originally had six fighters lined up to fight, only three were able to find matchups.  Jason Dent had this to say about the fights that happened:

Performance of the night of GR guys had to go to William Sutton but both Eric Pozun & Matt Perez both fought more experienced fighters and put on fantastic showings going the distance and doing some great things.

All three fighters will be back in training this week at the gym.  Be sure to stop and congratulate them when you see them.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Krav Maga Comes to GR?

With the terrific response of the GR family to the two Fight Fit Krav Maga Self Defense seminars, Jason is in talks with Sarah Fox and Ryan Hoover (pictured above) about adding the program full time at GR in  the very near future.  Ryan Hoover is the franchiser for Fit to Fight Krav Maga and Saras school is associated through him

The GR program would be affiliated with Sara Fox and work with her academy as she runs the premier Krav Maga school in NE Ohio.  Testing and big seminars would mostly happen at her facility as Krav Maga will be a side program at GR.

Our Krav Maga program would be situational self defense to fill in the missing gaps of all the programs we teach already.  Jeff Starr and Jason will teach as both have over 20 years in various Martial Arts. Jason’s Black Belt in Karate and Jeff’s in BJJ are excellent fits for Krav Maga instruction.  More instructors may be trained at GR as needed.

The program would run twice a week on both Tuesday and Thursday nights for one hour each,  Official times yet or start dates aren’t settled yet.

We will have more details soon! Meanwhile, Sarah's website is HERE

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Don't Sleep on the Juniors

The second Jr MMA Sleepover is in the books.  The sleepover builds camaraderie, and just getting together and having some fun is great for the team.  The last one was 2 years ago, with all the growth we didn’t get to do it last year but the goal is to do it twice a year from now on.   Jason is planning on January and August.

It started off on a serious note.  An hour was spent on situational self defense and how to tie their MMA
skills into it.  Everyone got in a good sweat, but the it was time for some fun: fitness challenges, playing with the PS4 and the cookout.

The fitness challenge winners took home signature shirts from some of our GR Pros.   Michael Frenk (redhead on left) - pushup challenge winner with 70 went home with a classic Intimidation Jason Dent shirt, Colin Rupar (in middle) won the wall sit to collect the new Bonesaw Comer shirt, and Logan Baker won the rope climb challenge with 15 reps on a 20’ rope climb and took home the Intimidation Donny Walker shirt.  These kids are fit!  I wonder if our signature MMA Pros could touch those numbers.

Kevin Jackson and Action Automotive sponsored the sleepover once again.  And once again, Kevin not only supplied the food but he cooked it too.  GR is lucky to have people like Kevin around.

GR also needs to thank Alex Frenk, Mike Baker, and Jacob Siever for stepping up and chaperoning.  These events can’t happen without good people like these going the extra mile.

With the success of the Jr MMA sleepovers, Jason is seriously considering a kids version for the 5 to 9 set. Feedback, ideas and suggestions on how to make this happen is welcome and needed.



Written by: Bob Donaghy

GR Ultimate Training Package Upgraded, Adds Instant Awesomeness

For those of you already members of the gym under the Ultimate Package - here’s great news. You just got a lot more value for your money.

Starting August 1st, everyone already enrolled in the Ultimate Package will also have unlimited access to Judo classes AND the very successful and popular Combat Conditioning.  Yes, that’s right, not only will you learn yet more ways to send someone crashing to the ground, but you’ll be in great shape when you do it.

If you’re not familiar with the Ultimate Package, here’s a quick education:  For one (very discounted) price you get:

• 3 nights of boxing per week (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday)
• 3 nights of Muay Thai per week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
• 3 nights of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu  per week (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday)
• 3 nights of MMA  per week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
• Open Gym on Friday (6 to 8 pm)
  And now
• Judo on Friday night from 6 to 7 pm
  AND 
• Combat Conditioning 3 nights per week. (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

So sign up, and show up, and be instantly awesome just for doing it.

Click HERE for the GR Gym schedule

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Kru Aarron 'Juice' Veverka Promoted to Full Instructor

At the closing of the Pacific Northwest Thai Camp 2014, Kru Aaron Veverka was honored with a brief ceremony elevating him to Full Instructor for the Thai Boxing Association.   You can see part of the his instructor test in the video below.  Kru Aaron Veverka is the only certified Full Instructor in the State of Ohio.  In addition to this honor, Juice was recently appointed State Director of Ohio for the Thai Boxing Association.

GriffonRawl is very proud of its long association with such a dedicated and talented man and to have Juice as the Co-Head Instructor of the Thai Boxing program.

Congratulations Juice on this latest achievement!



Written by:  Bob Donaghy

Not Your Typical Summer Camp Experience

The Thai Boxing Association 2014 Camp is over.  For those of you unfamiliar with this annual event it’s five days of intensive Muay Thai training in the wilds of Oregon.  30 miles from the nearest cell tower, about 150 very dedicated Muay Thai practitioners set up tents and sleeping bags among the mountains, pines, creeks and mosquitos of the beautiful NorthWest.

Mosquitos and mountains are the least of the challenges.  Getting up before dawn (and coffee) every morning for the 3 mile run, then stance drills for an hour before breakfast, then 5 hours of constant training..  This isn't your typical Summer Cap experience, or even for those who just want to show up, this camp is invitation only.  Classes are taught by the highest professionals, including but not limited to : Grandmaster Surachai Sirisute(Founder), Ajarn Bryan Dobler, Ajarn Bryan Popejoy, Ajarn Rex, Ajarn Kim, Ajarn Greg Nelson, Khun Khru Scott Elliott, Khun Khru Sam Adams, Khun Khru Natalie Roy Brown, Khun Khru Scott Anderson.  You have to earn your way in.

This was the 9th year GR’s own Kru Aaron “Juice” Veverka attended, and recently he’s earned the additional right to bring a guest.  This year it was standout MT Assistant Instructor, Russ Herbert.  For the last two years GR has been sponsoring the experience, helping to defray some of the costs for the trip and fees.  Investing in Juice's skills helps everyone at GR.  The camp will be in Portland again next year, anyone thinking about upping their game in Muay Thai should think hard about attending.

At the end of camp this year Kru Aaron was awarded Full Instructor Rank in the Thai Boxing Association of America.  Juice is the only Full Instructor in Ohio.  Congratulate Juice when you see him at the Academy on his achievement.  The very interesting video of his test is below.



Juice shared with us a typical day at camp:  You start with a 1 to 3 mile run in the morning followed by stance drills, then an hour for breakfast. Then it is time for extreme drills and/or station training, then an hour for lunch. We received boxing training that took up between 1 to 2 hours a day immediately followed by station training. Stations are as follows: Heavy bags, Shadow Boxing, Thai Pads, Timing sparring and Plum (clinching). Often some of the stations were doubled or tripled.  Thai Pads were at least doubled daily, other times tripled. Every station was a minimum of four rounds at 3 minutes a piece. Other days it was 8 rounds per station. You can see where this gets a bit tiring after a while. After that we often did 3 on 1 drills followed by 8 count body builders. We did 140 8 count body builders alone at the end of the day after our workouts.

As far as camp, the weather was rainy for the first two days, then cleared and heated up on the third and fourth days.  The intensity level was incredibly high! On the first day after trading all day we did 170 8 count body builders!  We worked plenty of rounds on the stations, averaging 70 to 74 rounds a day.  Usually we have a heavy bag station, Thai pad station, shadow Boxing station (which is much harder than it sounds), timing sparring and clinch stations.  We had 7 people test for Apprentice, which is a new record for camp testing

Russ Herbert had a few notes also:  Thai camp was as grueling as it was technically  beneficial.  Learning from legendary Muay Thai and boxing legends such as Ajarn Chai Sirisute, Ajarn Leonard Trigg, Ajarn Greg Nelson, to name a few, was a privilege and honor .  4 days of intense technique, conditioning and discipline defined the camp...not to mention the 180 8-count body builders that ended the first day of camp.  Techniques covering stance/footwork, kicks, knees, elbows, and boxing were explained in detail, and then group stations drilled them into us for hundreds of rounds and reps.  Similar to running a marathon, just to be able to finish Thai camp is an accomplishment...and your conditioning, technique, and knowledge are greatly improved!  A great experience!!

GriffonRawl is proud to sponsor Kru Aaron Juice Veverka's annual trip to the Thai Boxing Association of the U.S.A. camp.  It's rare to have such motivated and dedicated coaches that want to not only improve the gym and its members but actually make the time to better their own skills and rankings nationally and GriffonRawl MMA Academy is proud to have Juice on staff.

Written by:  Bob Donaghy

Logan Urban Joins the GR Fight Team

This was a good week at GR.  Summer attendance is up, we added Judo back into the class schedule, but best of all we added another fighter to the GriffonRawl Amateur Fight Team.  Because of his dominant win last weekend at Caged Madness30, Logan Urban is now a member of the fight team.

Entry to the GR fight team isn’t easy.  First of all Jason and the coaches must be convinced that the candidate is serious about training, and then the candidate has to perform well in Smokers and in the gym.  Once the candidate is ready for a full contact MMA fight, Jason will present the fighter for local promoters to consider.  Only after winning a sanctioned fight can the fighter be inducted to the GR Fight Team.

Logan is an active member of GR.  He’s consistent in showing up for scheduled classes, takes advantage of open mat and the cross training opportunities the gym arranges.  His dedication shows in his preparation.

As his training progressed he was selected to fight for the gym at Smokers, and even entered state level grappling tournaments on his own (winning Gold).

He had a rocky path to his debut win at Caged  Madness 30, but not of his own doing.  Logan may hold the amatuer team record for opponents backing out at the last minute.  But someone finally stepped up, Logan got his win, and GR is able to celebrate adding another fighter to the team.

Be sure to congratulate Logan when you see him at the gym.

Official GR Amateur Fight Team click HERE

Written by: Bob Donaghy