GR goes 3 for 4 at NAAFS Combat Challenge 23

Saturday night continued the resurgence of GriffonRawl at NAAFS events.  Three of the four warriors GR sent into the cage came away with victories, the sole loss was a very tight Split Decision.

Jon-David Reeves, Samuel Callari, Tony DiSantis and Joe Callari made the trip to the Z-Plex in Streetsboro, Ohio to stand up for GR.  Joe won by Unanimous Decision, Tony finished his opponent by Triangle Choke in the 3rd round, Sam took his win by TKO in the 1st round.  Jon  showed lots of heart and left it all in the cage, more experience will put him in the win column for sure.

GR Head Coach Jason Dent had lots to say about the fights: Sammy fought patiently and countered without hesitation. The pain he inflicted with his low kicks left his opponent open for some good old fashioned 1 – 2's!  Tony Di won in a war and showed Tony has heart thats for sure. His opponent was  game and had tons of heart as well.  Joe's opponent had no answer for the low kicks Joe delivered and he showed some really good takedowns.  Joe dominated his opponent and looked awesome.  Jon-David Reeves did damage with his kicks but his opponent controlled where the fight was so the judges gave him the decision.

Coach Donny Walker made the trip cornered for all four fighters with Jason. 

GR wants to thank Intimidation Clothing for their continued sponsorship of the GR Fight Team

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GriffonRawl at the American Grappling Challenge

GR Team Fighter Steve Hetzel and GR member Cody Lewis traveled to Hamilton, OH on Saturday, January 12 to compete in the American Grappling Challenge Tri-State Grappling Championships.

Steve finished 1st in nogi and 3rd in gi at 140 lbs while Cody took 4th in gi at 155 lbs. It 's great to see our guys stepping up to get out there to broaden their experience.

American Grappling Challenge is the new name for the Ohio Grappling Challenge.  Click on the yellow link to visit their new site.

The next AGC event will be The All-Ohio Open on March 23rd in Canton, OH

Written by: Bob  Donaghy

GR's Official Fitness Center "The Rock House"

We want to familiarize you with The Rock House, a small private gym in Painesville, OH. The Rock House is the official GriffonRawl weight/fitness/rehab gym. It is a 'key club': all members receive a key to the gym which they can use at any time, 24/7/365.

The gym includes 2800 square feet of free weights, a cardio area, and a general fitness activity area. It is “beginner friendly”, and all new members receive an orientation and a individualized training program and nutrition plan. Rock House does not use contracts, and offers a month to month membership. As a special consideration for GriffonRawl members, the gym will waive all sign-up fees. Just show them your GR card.

The gym is cleaned daily, and the equipment is well maintained. Broken equipment is replaced quickly. All weights are all rubber coated, which makes for a quiet atmosphere.

Donny and Jason have trained under the owner, Rocky, for years and the gym has sponsored them. Four GR fighters currently train there.. Donny Walker, Jason Dent, Thomas Salvator, and Dave Osborne. In addition, Thomas Salvator, who is also a licensed personal trainer, runs his training business out of The Rock House.

See them on FaceBook, and on the The Rock House website

View Larger Map

Written by: Bob Donaghy

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