Hard Work Pays Off for the Callari Brothers

Sammy and; Joe Callari are two of the most consistent, and hardest working members / fighters at GriffonRawl.  It's hard to think of the last time either missed a practice or failed to show up and support a gym event.  They turn up routinely for open mat, and are always among the first to volunteer to fight on a card, or a smoker. They've also gone outside the academy and participated in grappling tournaments to gain more experience in the sport. On another positive note both are coming off of wins as well.  With all that having been said it is my pleasure to announce that they have a new shirt being produced in next few weeks. Designed by NAAFS chief designer Troy Louis, the shirts will go on presale next week at the GriffonRawl pro shop.

It may be too late for Christmas, but right on time to support Sammy and Joe when they fight on the NAAFS card on January 26th.  Get right with your training and right in style, wear a Callari Bros “Wanted” shirt to Streetsboro on the 26th.

T-shirt details - Front of the shirt is pictured to the left and on the back across the shoulders it will read "Callari Killerz" in brown that matches the front.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Watch the New GR Gym Tour Video

For anyone that has not made it to GR here is a little in house tour of our facility and some of our training. Special thanks to GmonE & Jon Connor for putting this video together for us.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Pros Picks JDS v Velasquez

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s year-end events are typically anchored by a tremendous main event. That is certainly the case at UFC 155 on Saturday, as Junior dos Santos defends his heavyweight crown against Cain Velasquez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Dos Santos captured the championship with a first-round technical knockout against Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1 in November. Can the American Kickboxing Academy standout turn the tables and avenge the only defeat of his professional career?

Sherdog.com touched base with a number of professional fighters and trainers to gauge their opinions on the UFC 155 “Dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2” headliner

Jason Dent: JDS will win again. I’d say by TKO late in round three.

The rest of the article is HERE

Adapted from Sherdog.com by: Bob Donaghy

GR Sweatpants Going Fast!

The GR Sweatpants are selling fast in our Pro Sales Shop.  We have been asked for years to make these so here you go.

They make fine last minute Christmas gifts.  Enjoy everyone.

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

Jason Dent on Sherdog Pros Pick - Henderson v Diaz

Many think the UFC lightweight title tilt between champion Benson Henderson and challenger Nate Diaz has “Fight of the Year” potential. The two top-shelf 155-pounders will meet in the UFC on Fox 5 main event this Saturday at the Key Arena in Seattle.

Henderson has recorded 15 wins in his past 16 outings, including five in a row since joining the UFC as part of the World Extreme Cagefighting merger. The 29-year-old MMA Lab export last appeared at UFC 150 in November, when he took a split decision from former champion Frankie Edgar in their rematch at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Diaz used wins over Takanori Gomi, Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller as a springboard to title contention. The 27-year-old Cesar Gracie protégé won Season 5 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and has been a mainstay inside the Octagon ever since. Diaz has secured more than half (11) of his 16 professional victories by submission.

Sherdog.com touched base with a number of professional fighters and trainers to gauge their opinions on the UFC on Fox 5 “Henderson vs. Diaz” main event:

Jason Dent: Diaz wins by submission in round four.

Click HERE for the rest of the Pro's Picks

Adapted by: Bob Donaghy

GriffonRawl Gains Two New Fighters!

Tony DiSantis and Jon Reeves Join the Official GR Fight Team

With their wins at Roctagon XXII we have 2 new fighters on the team. 

Jon Reeves beat Nico Persaliano by TKO due to strikes in just 1:51 of the third round.

Tony DiSantis earned his team colors even faster TKO'ing Chad Rothgeb at 2:07-second first round call due to strikes.  A dominating win.

Congratulations to Anthony and Jon on their achievements in the cage.  We look forward to many more victories with them.

Here is a link to our Teams full amateur roster. If there not on here there not on the team. http://www.ohio-mma.com/amateur.html

Here is a link to our Teams full professional roster. If there not on here there not on the team. http://www.ohio-mma.com/professional.html

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GriffonRawl Wins Big at Roctagon XXII

GriffonRawl comes home 3-1 from Rocktagon XXII! Congrats to GR's Joe Callari on bringing us home the W as well as we now have 2 NEW GR Fighters in Anthony Disantis & Jon Reeves. Our only loss tonight was Josh Belle who had an amazing fight and only lost by split decision

• Curt Harper verbally submitted to Joe Callari at 1:16 of the second round after a fierce leg kick.
• Tony DiSantis got the TKO against Chad Rothgeb at 2:07 of the first round.
• Jon Reeves defeated Nico Persaliano via TKO at 1:51 of the third round.
• Josh Belle posted GR's only loss for the the night.  Uriah Karkow (Team Bundy) won the split decision against after all three judges scored the back-and-forth battle between the 29-28.  Several people have commented that this was the fight of the night, and could easily been scored either way. Both fighters should be commended for their honorable behavior during and after the fight.

After a long dry spell, GriffonRawl comes out of this event with a set of strong wins.  This should mark a return to our historical path.

If you want to watch our guys win, Rocktagon XXII is set to air on The Comcast Network (TCN) and Comcast Sports (CSN) beginning December 8. Streaming footage of the live event is currently available globally for $9.99 through the Go Fight Live website.

http://www.rocktagonmma.com/

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GR 2nd Annual IGC Official Results

Congratulations to the champions and 2nd place competitors of  GriffonRawl's 2nd Annual IGC tournament .

In the top picture the champions are in the back row while 2nd place is kneeling in the front row.  Left to right Champs - 265 David Farhatt, 205 Landon Khakdoust, 185lbs Brad Bukovics, 170 George Comer, 155 Pito Lagoa, 145 Isaiah Chapman, 135 John Reeves!Left to right 2nd Place - 265 Billy Harmon, 205 Attila Meszaros, 185 David Gray, 170 Anthony Disantis, 155 Daniel Ramacciato, 145 Joe Riley, 135 Jeff Offak!

GR would like to thank all those that competed last night as well as our awesome staff that made everything run super smooth. Win or lose everyone's skill level is bound to go up as long as your willing to learn from your experiences.

It's very likely that GR will try to host our IGC's twice a year and make it a semiannual event. Were hoping to run the next one in May. Our goal is to run an extremely professional in house grappling tournament at an extremely cheap price to give our members or any other participating gyms some valuable experience.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GriffonRawl Hires a Web Editor

GriffonRawl is pleased to announce that a long time friend of the Academy, Bob Donaghy, has assumed primary responsibility editing the news and events pages on the GR web site.  Bob has been helping out with the editing duties since Sept, 2011.  It's good to have him on board full time.

Bob has extensive professional experience as writer and editor, and in Mixed Martial Arts.  His first contact with GriffonRawl, came at Jason Dent's 2004 KOTC fight in Canton, OH where Bob was head judge for the event.  Shortly after that meeting Bob joined the academy and began to train intermittently.  Now more of a fan of the sport than a participant, Bob is in a long inactive period in his training while he devotes time to the business side of MMA. 

Written by: Jason Dent