Warehouse Wars 2

Toledo, Ohio

The Griffonrawl team ventured deep into the ghetto of Toledo to do battle in the "Warehouse Wars". Promoter Shawn Douglas did a great job of creating a real "Fight Club" type of atmosphere, and Griffonrawl fighters Aaron "Juice" Veverka and Mike "The Bull" Russo were up to the challenge. The turnout was less than expected, but it is understandable, as even the bad boys of Griffonrawl were looking over their shoulders while walking out to their cars in the ghetto warzone of Toledo. The details of each bout are given below.Aaron "Juice" Veverka vs. Mike O'neil (Winner by KO, Aaron "Juice-Dawg-in-the-hizzie" Veverka)Juice and his opponent came out fast and furious in the first round. They both looked sharp, were throwing good combinations, and were both eager to get off first. The first round was pretty even. Juice tended to dominate with kicks and knees, while opponent dominated when punches were thrown. After the first round, Juice adapted quickly to his opponents skills. Although Juice has good hands, his kicks and knees became his real weapons. In the second round, Juice kicked and kneed his opponent skillfully and mercilessly, while staying relaxed and pacing himself. In the third round, Juice began to enjoy himself. He would charge his opponent with flying push kicks and flying knees, and then immediately clinch, and methodically wear down his opponent with knees. He threw one final knee to the chest which sent his opponent to the canvas. Both of these fighters showed great skill, discipline and conditioning. Congratulations to Juice on his superior performance.Mike "The Bull" Russo vs. Carlos Druedwater (Winner by KO, Opponent)This bout should have been called "The Running of the Bulls", as Mike and Opponent came out sluggin' in the first round. They both landed some brutal punches, kicks, knees in the first round, and both seemed to be enjoying a contest of "who can hit harder". In the second round, it was apparent that both fighters wanted to exercise more caution as there was more feigning, head movement, and combinations thrown. Both men were looking good until Opponent had Mike against the ropes, and threw a cross - hook - right head kick combination that sent Mike to the canvas. Mike did not give anything up, as Opponent landed a beautiful head kick from very close range, and it caught Mike right on the buzzer. Hats off to both of these gentlemen, they put on a great show. Written by:Brett Wessler

King of the Cage "Rampage in the Cage"

Canton, Ohio

Young Fighters Shine in CantonKing of the Cage returned to the Midwest for the first time since fielding a star-studded card just outside of Detroit in November 2000 with a show that thrilled the buckeye state crowd. With only one fight making to the second round, the fans were pleased with nonstop action and excitement.This reporter was impressed with the knowledgeable and expansive crowd. The last event I reported from in Canton had a crowd that barley topped 500 fans, which belittled the fighters every time they were in the guard or fighting cautiously. The Canton Memorial Civic Center was bursting with near capacity crowd, roaring during submission attempts and sweeps; there was only a hint of uneducated remarks.Without a major name on the card or any sign of a respectable main event, KOTC "Rampage" displayed local talent and excited the fans with brawls, knockouts, and submissions.While running his record to a perfect 10-0, Forrest Petz proved himself to be ready for a step up in level of competition. The Cleveland-based fighter knocked out Mike O'Donnell around the three-minute mark of round one.Early in the contest O'Donnell looked to pressure the stand up action until he felt the stone hands of his opponent. Petz, who trains with Daniel Bobish, connected with a solid left hook dropping O'Donnell. O'Donnell regained his footing, only to be knocked down three more times. Each time he was knocked to the floor, Petz would step back and wave the butt-scooter up to his feet.Growing ever confident, Petz opened up his punches even more and landed a nice combo finishing the fight with a solid right hook that sent his opponent face down to the mat.Eddie Sanchez got back on the winning path after suffering losses to John Renken and Keith Wisniewski. Sanchez, who trains out of the Gomez academy in Detroit, battled Jeremiah Pocock in a middleweight contest.In the only bout of the evening that made it to the second round, both fighters exchanged position on the mat throughout the first stanza, with Sanchez getting the upper hand when he landed several elbows from the half guard.Both fighters seemed to be gassed going into the respite, but as the action resumed Pocock looked to press the fight with some heavy strikes. To defend from the shots, Sanchez began to work from the clinch. Pocock stumbled to the mat where the Michigan fighter took his back and sunk in the rear-naked choke.In super-heavyweight action, Tony Sylvester and Brian Peoples, who both look-a-like Scott Ferozzo clones, wowed the crowd. Unlike most super heavyweights, these two combatants showed great skill. Peoples landed very crisp leg kicks to open the contest.After a brief stint on the ground, the fighters went toe to toe, landing smooth, crisp shots. This slugfest did not look like a Tough Man contest, rather a skilled boxing match. Sylvester caught Peoples with a left jab that staggered him. As he was reeling, Sylvester followed it up with a flurry. Peoples was unable to answer and referee Herb Dean was forced to halt the action.Jason Dent looked very smooth in his victory over Matt Brady, while improving his record to 8-1. Dent, who stayed calm as Brady took him down early, weathered a ground-and-pound attack. Dent trapped the arm from guard and finished the fight bellying down for the armbar tap.Josh Hendricks, who weighed in at 235, took control of his much heavier opponent, Jonathan Westfall, who tipped the scale at 305. Hendricks shot in on a single-leg takedown and quickly took the back of Westfall, but he was unable to get in his hooks. After mounting his opponent, Hendricks trapped the left arm and worked on a key lock. The tap came around the two-minute mark.In a lightweight contest, Josh Sounder made short work of hometown fighter Brad Mohler. Sounder, who trains with Jorge Gurgel, quickly took down his adversary to side control. After working to mount, Sounder secured an armbar and forced a tap early into round one, running his record to 7-2.Dorian Price earned his second MMA victory when he submitted Drew Longshore 1:30 into the first round. Price, who out muscled his gaunt 6-foot-4 160 pound opponent, locked up a triangle choke and secured the tap after transitioning from an armbar from mount.Fred Parrish won his MMA debut by choking Jamie Tony unconscious late in the first round. Parrish, who was cut early in the fight, endured the blood and worked for a guillotine. Tony defended well for a while, but had no more fence to climb to alleviate the pressure. Tony's body went limp as referee Dean separated the combatants and tended to the unconscious fighter.In welterweight action, Jeff Cox stayed undefeated, improving his record to 4-0. Cox overpowered Mike Russo throughout the short bout. Cox muscled a takedown and then used some vicious ground and pound. When the fighters worked their way back to their feet, Cox landed a big right hand, inciting a ref stoppage.Aitor Canup quickly dispatched Jason Keaton with a rear-naked choke moments into round one. Once the action hit the mat, Keaton seemed out of his element, tapping without much resistance.Written by: John Hanlon (Found on Maxfighting.com)Official Fight Results - GriffonRawl Fighters in Bold1 Fred Parrish over Jamie Toney - Submission (Guillotine Choke) 12 Jeff Cox over Mike Russo - KO (Punch) 13 Josh Hendricks over Jonathan Westfall - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 14 Dorian Price over Drew Longshore - Submission (Triangle Choke) 1 5 Forrest Petz over Mike O'Donnell - TKO 16 Jason Dent over Matt Brady - Submission (Armbar) 1 7 Eddie Sanchez over Jeremiah Pocock - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 28 Josh Souder over Brad Mohler - Submission (Armbar) 19 Tony Sylvester over Brian Peoples - Submission 1 10 Aitor Canup over Jason Keaton - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1

Extreme Combat Challenge "Chaos In The Cage"

Anderson, Indiana

The Griffonrawl team traveled to Anderson, Indiana this past weekend to compete in "Chaos in the Cage". The show was fun, and had 30-40 fighters signed up for it. There was solo matches, tournament competitions and prearranged rematches. It was definitely a fighting environment, held in a run down abandoned big lots building, with plenty of women and beer. There was never a dull moment this evening, as an impressive ammount of people showed to see the event. Even the wet mud all over the floor seemed to make things interesting.The Griffonrawl Lineup and Results are as follows:Dan Krempel vs. Bill Kid (Winner Bill Kid by Ref. Stoppage due to Strikes - in rd 1)Dan was set to compete in a four man tournament. The fighters were called out and introduced at the beginning of the evening. This was Dan's first fight. The round started with Dan making the first move, landing a jab to his opponent right after the bell rang. Bill went for the takedown and put Dan on his back in the corner. Dan played defensively, until Bill gave him enough room to barrel-kick him away. Dan started to get up, but Bill charged so Dan laid back down. Dan push kicked his opponent from the ground and bought enough time to hop to his feet. After a short mingle, Bill attempted a second take down, but Dan reversed it and got sidemount over Bill. Bill had him in a headlock, so Dan worked his elbows and knees to the head in attempt to free himself. He made a technical error and Bill was able to escape. Bill made a second takedown, putting Dan back in the corner of the cage. Dan worked his defense once again, but Bill's aggression paid off, landing several punches to the side of Dan's face. The ref called the fight near the end of round 1.Donny Walker vs. Jason Gillian (Winner Jason Gillian by Ref. Stoppage due to strikes - in rd 1)Donny threw a leg kick in the beginning of the fight, and Jason tackled him and pinned him into the side of the cage. Jason thew punches as Donny tried to secure a triangle choke. Jason picked him up and slammed him down, breaking the triangle lock around him, and continued to punch his way through Donny. The ref stopped the fight to strikes in the middle of round 1. Donny is a true warrior though, and will be back in the cage ASAP!Mike Russo vs. Tristan Yunker (Winner Mike Russo by Split Decision rd 3)Mike was also set to compete in a four man tournament. This fight was very active, and Mike landed a lot of beautiful punching combinations. Mike dominated his opponent on his feet with upper cuts, hooks, and knees to the head. A couple times, Mike was put in a headlock on the ground, against the side of the cage. Mike managed to work through the difficulty and get back to his feet. His opponent fought south paw, allowing Mike to land powerful inside leg kicks. With continued stand up performance, Mike was awarded the three round decision. Mike withdrew from the tournament due to an ankle injury, allowing Tristan to advance.Jason Dent vs. Davey Gibson (Winner Jason Dent by Submission rd 1)Jason's fight was against professional kickboxer Davey Gibson. Davey really wanted an opponent who would stand with him, and Jason brought it to him. Jason landed solid leg kicks against his opponent and evaded most of Davey's strikes. The fight went from corner to corner, as Jason showed his clinching skills and landed a lot of knees. Davey managed to work Jason into the corner, but Jason reversed it and continued to work the clinch. Out of desperation, Davey took Jason to the ground, where Jason slapped on a triangle - arm bar and forced Davey to submit.Written by: Dan Krempel

Muay Thai Challenge 3 "The Reckoning"

Schaumburg, Illinois

Just this past weekend Team GriffonRawl members Aaron Veverka, Ryan Conway, Jason Dent, Mike Russo, and Nick Fross set off to do battle in the windy city. Below you will find our teams results and details of their bouts.Aaron Veverka vs. Robert Walker Jr. (This fight was declared a Draw rd.3)Details: "Juice was lucky enough to be the first fight of the night, and also this marks "Juice's" first fight without shin guards. "Juice" did a good job controlling this fight as he clearly dominated the fight on the outside, however Walker did a good job getting the clinch on "Juice quite often. Being in the corner for "Juice" and seeing the action up close I thought "Juice" had this one in the bag but I guess the judges must have seen something that I did not.Ryan Conway vs. Stanley Rousonelos (Winner Rousonelos by TKO rd2)Details: All I can say is that this was an absolute war! Round one was fast & furious with both fighters trying to gain control. Conway's highlights in this were some of the powerful crosses he landed along with some punishing knees to Rousonelos midsection, which seemed to be doing damage. However in Round two Rousonelos was able to put together some really nice combinations of punches. Trying to avoid Rousonelos's offense Conway made the mistake of reaching in attempt to set up the clinch to land more knee strikes. Late in the second round Rousonelos pinned Conway in the corner forcing him to cover up, at that point Rousonelos was able to score a vicious uppercut that would put Conway down for the count. Conway will be back stronger, faster, and more focused that ever before.Jason Dent vs. Benne Yelle (Winner Dent by Split Decision rd5)UWMTA Midwest Middleweight Amateur ChampionshipDetails: This fight was the Main Event on the evening and also a battle for a UWMTA Amateur Title. This fight would mark the third time in nine months that Dent would square of with Yelle. Their first fight was in Dayton, Ohio on April 26th 2003, followed by their second fight in Schaumburg, Illinois on October 24th 2003, which was there first fight for the UWMTA Title. The funny thing is Dent and Yelle seem to be inseparable opponents seeing how this was there third match and there is now talks of a possible fourth match happening due to the fact that Yell has beaten Dent twice and now Dent has beaten Yell and stolen his Title. Promoters seem to love their fights because they just keep trying to set this fight up over and over again. Having been in the corner for all of Dent's fights against Yelle I would have to say every one of their battles were so different in the fact that they both kept evolving and coming in with different game plans every fight. In my opinion I think Jason lost the first fight when the two met, but I think he should of won the second fight in which they fought because it was really close. The fight was so close that before they announced the decision "The President of the UWMTA Kru Vut" himself announced that there would be an automatic rematch no matter what the decision. On to the third fight, Dent was not to be denied this time around and knew this could very well be his last chance at redemption to avenge his losses to Yelle and maybe his last opportunity at the Title. Dent was the busier fighter in this fight and was the more effective fighter in this fight landing everything from solid punches, knees to the chest, some good leg kicks, and even a spinning back kick that knocked Yelle clear off of his feet. This was an awesome fight to watch and hopefully we will have the videotape at the gym for students to borrow before to long.A special thanks is in store for Nick Fross & Mike Russo for traveling along with Veverka, Dent, and Conway to coach and corner.Written by:Mike Russo

Muay Thai Challenge 2 "The Battle"

Schaumburg, Illinois

This show was a Rosales Promotion and definitely a good show to have been a part of. Not only were the fights sanctioned by the UWMTA, but also the President Kru Vut was there himself. GriffonRawl fighters who competed include Ivan Erceg, Ryan Conway, Mike Russo, Aaron Veverka, and Jason Dent. Here are the results of our team’s fights:Ivan Erceg vs. Stanley Rousonelos II (Winner Stanley Rousonelos by Split Decision)Aaron Veverka vs. Glen Young (Winner Glen Young by Decision)Ryan Conway vs. James Hill (Winner James Hill by Decision)Mike Russo vs. Al Rojas (Winner Al Rojas by Decision)Jason Dent vs. Ben Yelle (Winner Ben Yelle by Decision)It's too bad the whole team lost at this show but everybody did perform well, all of our fights were wars and nobody got walked over. Also on a positive note everybody came back healthy and without any injuries. Do to our performance our Team has been invited back to compete in their next show in January. (We are looking forward to it and will return with a Vengeance!) A special Thank you is in store for William Dent (Father of Jason) for traveling with the team and being a corner man for all of the fighters. Also Brett Wessler and his buddy Mark from Chicago for helping the team at the fights, it's always nice to have support. We will have videotape of these fights shortly and plan on studying them in class, I think everybody will be impressed with these fights I know I was. Written by:Jason Dent

International Combat Event 5

Middletown, Ohio

Once again these were MMA fights and took place in a cage. On an interesting note the show was ran by Kerry "The Meat Truck" Schall, and Monte Cox who manages some of the greatest fighters in the world of Mixed Martial Arts (Ex. Pat Militech, Jeremy Horn, Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Jason Black, Tim Sylvia, and Robbie Lawler, just to name a few). The show was all amateur MMA matches except for the last two fights of the night. In Co-Main Event of the evening Antoine Skinner, the only man to beat Jason in MMA by decision, won his match. In the Main event of the night Jason Dent dispatched of hometown favorite Billy Rush in the first round of their match. Billy dominated early on scoring a takedown and pushed Jason to the cage which happened to be his corner (Jorge Gurgel, and Rich Franklin). From there he tried to Ground and Pound Jason, with most of his shots being blocked by Jason he quickly went for a Toe Hold but Jason was able to roll out of it. Both fighters scrambled back to thier feet where Jason would get his hooks in first and score a body lock sweep. From here Jason Methodically picked his opponent apart landing shots from Billys half guard (Body, Body, Head) until finally gaining full mount and raining down punches to get the Tap Out with only 30 seconds left in the first round. With Antoine advancing and Jason beating Billy Rush their will be a showdown between the two for the I.C.E. Lightweight Title on the next show, I forgot to mention that it was a four man Tournament.On a cool note Rich Franklin,(Who will be the first fight on the main card of the UFC next Friday.)was in my oppossing corner coaching against me. Overall this was a good event the people running the show did a good job, especially considering they had like over four drop outs the week of for different reasons. The crowd must a been a couple hundred at most, nothing like the Next Level Fighting show from last weekends which had 1,900 in attendance.It's good to be back on the winning streak again and it's also cool that I am set up for a rematch with the only man to beat me in MMA so far, it should be interesting to fight Antoine again. Special Thanks to Mike "The Bull" Russo for coming and cornering me, also thank you goes out to my soon to be Manager Chas Bowlin for getting me this fight and cornering me. Also Thank you to all those here at home for you're support it is appreciated. See everyone in class.

Next Level Fighting 1 - Jason brings home Lightweight Title !

Steubenville, Ohio

This event was definitely a sight to see. As you entered the building and looked down upon the brand new 25’ steel octagon cage, the smell of testosterone and beer filled the air. 1900 fans attended to watch 14 fights throughout the evening. UFC celebrities that attended this event included Wes Sims and Mark Coleman. The rules for this event were identical to the UFC's rules, and you can view the website at http://www.nextlevelfighting.com/. Our fighter Jason Dent fought Nick Spencer 3 bloody MMA rounds to take home the Light Weight Champion belt. Mike Russo fought Chas Jolly and submitted him in the first round with a rear choke. Ryan Conway fought Billy Ayash and tapped out to strikes.Jason Dent – “I would just like to first say what an honor it was to be a part of this show. The people behind the curtains really had their stuff together; this show would have to be one of the best shows that I have competed on in MMA.”Official Results for GriffonRawl fightersJason Dent defeated Nick Spencer 2:20 into the 3rd with a triangle chokeMike Russo defeated Chase Jolly 3:15 into the 1st with a rear naked choke.Billy Ayash defeated Ryan Conway 0:18sec into the 1st with tap out to strikes. Congratulations to the "New" Next Level Fighting Champions!Jason Dent (Light Weight Champion)Angelo Popofski (Middle Weight Champion)Luke Spencer (Welter Weight Champion)Special thanks to GriffonRawl corner men!Mark Fredebaugh, Ivan Erceg, Marco Puljic, Nick FrossThanks to all those who attended!Dan Krempel, Ken Krempel, Bob Flora, Dan Dent, Josh Sievers, Cheyenne, Tony and his daughter Krista, Mikes girlfriend Amanda and her sister Anna.

Extreme Combat Challenge "Mayhem In Muncie"

Muncie, Indiana

Here is some of the news and results from this weekends MMA caged fights. Overall there were about 24 fights total, this show was a mix of Amateur and Proffesional fights. Once again this show was filmed by Indiana Films and will be released on DVD with commentary. It will be released in a couple of weeks so if you would like a copy just go to http://www.indianafilms.com/ to order one. GriffonRawl fighters Mike Russo and Jason Dent both competed this weekend. To start out the night Mike Russo who had been training for a single fight was asked to compete in an 8 man tournament and of course he excepted. As for Jason Dent he was set to fight in the Co-Main Event of the evening against Powerhouse Antoine Skinner, this fight was to be a Pro bout. Now on to the results you have been waiting for. In Mike "The Bull" Russo's Amateur MMA caged fight debut he was nothing less than dominant. The fight consisted of Mike landing a couple of nice leg kicks followed by a good body kick which was caught by his opponent. Mikes opponent next tried to hoist Mike into the air to slam him but Mike locked him in a nice Guillotine choke and wrapped his opponent with his legs preventing the slam from taking place. Naturally the fight proceeded to ground where Mike's opponent was able to muscle out of the choke only to get coaught by a Triangle choke in which Mike made him tap out but unfortunately the tap happened at the same time as the bell. So on to round two where Mike was able to out clinch his opponent and put him to the fence where Mike would land the best KO of the night. The KO came by way of a Knee to the face as Mike's opponent was trying to take him down. Mike was then set to advance to the semi-finals.In Mike's next match he was doing fairly well avoiding takedowns in the first round. In the second round Mike got taken down but was looking good working for submissions until he got caught by a knee while putting an armbar on his opponent. The fight was stopped by the Referee. The knee rocked Mike a little and he was not able to recover quick enough before he got hit with two more of them. At least he got to dish out some pain before recieving some. In the Co-Main event of the evening Jason Dent got beat by Antoine Skinner via decision. The fight consisted of Jason winning on the feet every round before getting taken down by the much stonger Skinner. Antoine actually picked Jason up over his head on at least three occasions and slammed him to the floor. The slams looked pretty but did not phase Jason as he tried to work for Submission after Submission and came close to securing a Triangle Choke before the bell sounded the end of round two. The majority of this fight took place on the ground where Antoine scored some nice elbow shots on Jason from time to time. Jason was able to neutralize any chance of Antoine finishing him with any strike or submission. The decision was a fair one in the fact that Skinner was able to keep the fight where he wanted it and landed some decent strikes on the ground. You win some, you lose some. Mike and I are looking foward to our next Fights on September 13th which will be MMA caged fights also. Personally I will be looking for a little redemption. See everyone at class.

Friday Night at the Fights!

Wheeling, West Virginia

Here is the results and some details of this event. The fights took place at the Wheeling Island & Race Track arena which had a casino inside. (We had to peal Mr. Stafford away from the slot machines !)Before going any further I should add that Juice was the only kickboxing fight of the night (It was under International rules), and Mikes match was an amature Boxing match. Juice fought a good fight, it went all 3 rounds. However he unfortunately lost the decision, but he did very well from the outside landing many, many, leg kicks and body kicks. His opponent (Brian Cameches) was able to get Juice to the ropes where he used his boxing to score some nice shots that cost Juice the decision. Mikes fight was shaping up to be a good one, Mike looked really good early on slipping jabs and contering well until he decided he wanted to go for the KO early (Bad idea !) Both Mike Russo and his oppenent Mike Metz were throwing heavy bombs, it was just a matter of time until one connected unfortunetly it was Russo who caught the big one first. It takes Big Balls just to get in the ring many people will talk all tough but will never back it up. As far as the rest of the night of fights they were all Professional Boxing matches, which I might add were very exciting. A special thank you to Tim Stafford, and Brett Wessler for helping me corner. Also a special thank you to Amanda Lucic for coming out and cheering the team on. Both Mike, and Juice are warriors and both deserve respect. Both these men will be back stronger & more focused than ever. Ill see everybody in class !

Victory in Vegas for "Dynamite"

Las Vegas, Nevada

On the last night of the UWMTA training camp there was a live fight card set to take place in the Tropicana Hotel & Casino. Fighters from New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, California, and throughout the U.S. were set to compete. Kickboxing celeberties in attendance would include, Kru Vut, Master Toddy, Saekson Janjira, Kit Cope, Ben Garcia, Melcor Menor, Phil Baroni, "The Sleeper" Walter Michalowski, and Im sure Im forgeting to name a few. When the opportunity to fight in Las Vegas presented itself Jason jumped on it, I mean how often do you get the chance to fight on the strip in Vegas. Jason weighed in at 160lbs and was matched against Toby Greer who currently trains with Kru Vut Kamnark in California. This fight was to be with no head gear, no shin guards, 14 oz gloves, and was set for three two minute rounds. Here is quick run down. The fight went the distance but was not even close, Jason controled the fight from start to finish. To Tobies credit he landed a couple of good knees, a few punches, and like one leg kick. Dent landed several leg kicks, lots of knees to the thighs and mid section, a nice left kick to the body, and of course his patent switch right hand found its mark more than once. Toby was wobbled on a few different occasions and even stooped to head butting in desperation. When the bell rang there was no doubt who had won the fight.Jason would like to thank his Mentor Dan Rawlings for being in his corner once again, and also thank Nick, Mike, and Brett for there support at the fights. Notch another victory in for the GriffonRawl Ohio team.