Caged Madness Comes to Akron

GR heads South to Akron in July to see two of its newest take to the cage for Explosive Fight Promotions Caged Madness 30.  Cody Lewis, already a Team Fighter at 135 lbs, will gear up to fight Marquis Johnson (1-4) out of Columbus, and Logan Urban will make his long delayed cage debut for GR, against Desmond Ford (1-1), and try to earn his place on the team with a win.

Cody Lewis

What: Explosive Fight Promotions 30 “Caged Madness”
Date: Saturday, July 26, 2014
Where: Tadmor Shrine Center 3000 Krebs Dr Akron, OH 44319
When: Doors open at 5 pm, first bout at 6:30 pm
Tickets: Contact Logan Urban or Cody Lewis on FaceBook for tickets

Logan Urban

Even though Caged Madness is one of the longest running fight series in in the state this is the first time a GR fighter will cross the threshold of its cage.  Make the trip with the GR Fight Team and support these two warriors,



Written by: Bob Donaghy

Level 1 T.B.A. Muay Thai Test

This test completes the series started with the TBA Training Clinic on May 10th.

Anyone that is already a Student Level 1 or higher under the Thai Boxing Association of the U.S.A. is encouraged to still come and will be FREE of course. The cost of this test will be $25 and the test will be 2 hours in legnth. Remember you must also have registered with the Thai Boxing Association of the U.S.A. to even be eligible to test. If you have any questions your should direct them to Kru Aaron Juice Veverka please.

What: Level 1 T.B.A. Muay Thai Test
Date: Saturday, July 19, 2014
Where: GriffonRawl MMA Academy, 6090 Pinecone Dr. Mentor, OH 44060
When: 1 pm to 3 pm
Tickets: $25

Participants are EXPECTED to know the material and will be failed if not prepared. Kru Aaron Juice Veverka has hand outs of the material required and GR's Assistant Muay Thai Coach Russ Herbert is also available Thursday nights to answer questions as well.

#1 requirement is that you are a member of the Thai Boxing association, because they will be the ones holding your international instructor rank after you qualify by taking these classes and work shops.
Log on to www.thaiboxing.com and sign up!



Written by: Bob Donaghy

Coveted Fighting Championships Debuts in Mentor

Coveted Fighting Championships, a successful South Carolina based promotion holds their inaugural Ohio event at the Mentor Civic Ice Arena on June 21st.  The event will feature many local pro and amatuer favorites against talent brought in specifically for this event.

GriffonRawl has signed on as the official sponsor gym for the event and will host the traveling fighters for last minute training.

The weigh in will be at the Happy Moose Bar & Grill open to the public on Friday, June 20, at 5 pm.

What: Coveted Fighting Championship 3
Date: Saturday, June 21, 2014
Where: Mentor Civic Center 8600 Munson Road, Mentor OH 44025
When: Doors open at 5 pm, first bell at 6 pm
Tickets: $25 General Admission.

Always buy your tickets through the fighters.  It will cost you the same, but they get a cut of every ticket they sell.  So pick your favorite and show support . Click on the fighter's name below and message them through FaceBook for tickets.  They all have them in stock now.  Get your tickets now. Cageside seats are already gone, and table space is filling fast..

• Bryon Mccroskey
• Cody Lewis
• George Comer
• Logan Urban
• Nikolai Gionti

The main event sees Chris Curtis (9-3) face off with Tiawan Howard (11-11) at 185# in what is bound to be a stand up war.  Both are Bellator veterans and two of the areas most explosive fighters.

GR’s own George Comer fights in the co main event.  His opponent will be one of the midwest's best, Joe “Superhero” Lile Jr  (5-1 pro, 5-0 amature).  An experienced and successful wrestler, Lile will present a mature challenge to Comer.  Many other GR fighters will grace the card: Cody Lewis, Bryon Mccroskey, Logan Urban, and Nikolai Gionti will all fight, but do not have opponents yet.

The GR lineup for Coveted Fighting Championship 3

Intimidation Clothing will introduce the latest George “Bonsaw” Comer signature shirt.  The new shirts will be available for sale at the event.




Written by: Bob Donaghy

Jorge Pereira Seminar at GR

Save the date, Saturday June 7th for a rare BJJ training treat.  While on vacation in Florida, GR BJJ instructor Tony Reel trained at Rio Hero, one of the best BJJ gyms in the world.  He was so impressed by the training provided by Prof. Jorge Pereira that he decided to convince Jason to bring Prof. Pereira to GriffonRawl.  It didn’t take much convincing.

Master Jorge Pereira is a Coral Belt - 7th Degree Black Belt (Graduated by Rickson Gracie and Carlos Gracie Jr.) He is Certified by the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation & by the Confederation of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo. Former World Champion in different Styles and now instructing in Rio Hero South Beach. For more on Jorge Pereira click HERE

Aside from his BJJ credentials, Prof. Pereira holds a 9-4 MMA record. Not surprisingly, all of his wins are first round submissions.

The seminar will be in two parts.  No gi, and then gi.  Each session will last two hours, with a half hour break in the middle.

What: Jorge Pereira Seminar
Date: Saturday June 7, 2014
Where: GriffonRawl MMA Academy
When: 11:30 - 1:30 pm Gi, 2 - 4 pm NoGi
Cost:
Pre-pay: $75 for one session, $100 for both
Day of: $100 for one session, $125 for both

Tickets: Contact Jason Dent at GR

Reel’s Auto is the primary sponsor for this event

Update May 1st, we've added two sponsors:

Intimidation Clothing

Defense Soap

A sample of Prof. Pereira’s training

By Popular Demand Krav Maga is Back

April 4th GriffonRawl hosted Krav Maga Black Belt Sarah Fox for its first Krav Maga Self Defense seminar.  The event was a big hit with the membership, and Jason resolved then and there to bring Sarah and her years of  teaching experience  back to GR several times per year. 

Friday, July 11th Jason makes good; Sarah will conduct another 2 hour session on the main mat at GR.  The focus of the training will be practical, effective and efficient techniques to end trouble before it escalates.

What: Krav Maga Self Defense 

Date: Friday, July 11, 2014

Where: GriffonRawl Academy 6090 Pinecone Drive, Mentor OH

When: 6 pm - 8 pm

Tickets: Paid in advance: Members $20, Non-members: $30.  Add $10 to pay at the door.

The first seminar sold out, with over 40 attendees.  Don’t be left out, space will go quickly, so reserve your slot ASAP by calling: 440-358-9371

Fight Fit Krav Maga site is HERE

As before this seminar is sponsored by Action Automotive

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Ahmad Douglas v Tobiaus Taylor at FNF 10

Ahmad Douglas climbs in the cage for the 4th time in less than a year this time to face off with Tobiaus Taylor, the younger brother of former NAAFS Lightweight Champion Torrance Taylor.  Ahmad has kept a busy schedule.  Running his record to 3-0 since his MMA debut last October, he’s also managed to squeeze in a couple of wrestling tournaments and a smoker or two (and he doesn’t miss classes).  One of the youngest members of the GR Amateur Fight Team (he’s actually still under some age restrictions), Ahmad, faces different challenges from his older team members.  Aside from a full study schedule at Lakeland Community College, Ahmad puts in long hours at his family’s restaurant.

What: Fight Night in the Flats 10
Date: June 7, 2014
Where: Jacobs Pavilion, 2014 Sycamore St Cleveland OH 44113
When: Doors Open at 5 PM, Event Starts at 6 PM
Tickets: Contact Ahmad Douglas through GriffonRawl or on Facebook HERE

Ahmad’s opponent is Tobiaus Taylor, a 4-1 lightweight out of the very tough Rising Dragon camp.  A striker like his older brother Torrance, Tobiaus likes to grind out the wins, working a careful and technical game.  Three of his wins are Unanimous Decisions, the other being a 2nd round TKO.  His sole loss was a late 3rd round armbar to the much more experienced RJ Buck (11-4 at the time).  This will be a very competitive fight.

GR always sends a strong contingent to Fight Night in the Flats.  We’ve been the main event there more than once.  Be sure to contact Ahmad either at GR or on his Facebook page for tickets

Intimidation Clothing will sponsor Ahmad for this fight:



Written by: Bob Donaghy

Where There's Smoke There's Fire

GriffonRawl will host it’s first Open Sparring Night on Friday, May 30th at GriffonRawl Academy.  Jason has invited teams from Vanyo’s Martial Arts, Evolve, World Kickboxing Academy, Marvin William's Fearless All Stars and Rockhard MMA.  He’s already received confirmation on some of the participants and made matchups with GR members.  Check out the event page on Facebook for updates.

Public Open Sparring Night HERE

What: GriffonRawl Open Sparring Night
Date: Friday May 30, .2014
Where: GriffonRawl MMA Academy 6090 Pinecone Dr, Mentor OH
When: 8 pm to Whenever
Tickets: It’s FREE!

What, exactly, is a Smoker?

Ask ten people and get ten answers, but the one that matters most in Ohio (and for our purposes) is what the Ohio Athletic Commission says.  To them, a Smoker (can’t be called a Smoker!) is a competitive exhibition
of skills conducted for the entertainment of the public within the rules of a specific combat sport as overseen by a qualified representative of the Commission.  In practical terms, the gym owner has to inform the commission of the Smoker, can’t call it a Smoker when advertising it, must provide a qualified referee, though the referee must not declare a ‘winner’ in any of the competitions, and the gym owner may not charge admission to the public.

For the rest of us non-combatants a Smoker (known from now on as  “Public Open Sparring Night”), is a fun evening out.  For the fighters the results of the fights are not recorded and do not appear on their record.  Since these aren't official fights, it is not necessary for a participant to be a member of a formal fight team.  It is, however, full contact fighting in front of an audience, making it excellent experience for a novice fighter to get used to public performance without the pressure of full event preparation.  More experienced fighters use Open Sparring Nights to stave off ring rust in the long lags between fights.  It’s also a great way to get exposure to other fighters and other skills.  It’s too easy to become complacent when you spar with only your friends week in and week out.

Fearless All Stars

Written by: Bob Donaghy