The NAAFS Connects with a Great One-Two Combination at Rock N Rumble
McCall defeats Hendricks; Caraballo Brings Home the Gold; GriffonRawl goes 4-0
Written by Jake Digman
Photos by Ryan Heckert
(08/30/09 – Cleveland, OH) – The NAAFS once again made a successful foray into the Nautica Pavilion in Cleveland, OH for the 3rd Annual Rock N Rumble. The combination of high octane action inside the NAAFS cage and the hard hitting sounds from some of the top acts on NAAFS Fight Music: Vol. 1 provide the fans with a night that will be talked about for quite some time to come.
The main event lived up to the billing of being two years in the making, as in the end it was former Pro Series Heavyweight Champion “Cujo” Joe McCall (7-1) standing triumphant over UFC veteran Josh “Heavy” Hendricks (19-6) in their heavyweight battle.
Both of these athletes prepared for this fight by training with top notch UFC fighters and it showed with the quality of fight they delivered. The fight seemed to be over when Hendricks had a deep kimura sunk in, but McCall was somehow able to reverse and once again take top mount.
From there he proceeded to connect with a combination of repeated punches and elbows to the head until Hendricks was given no choice but to submit.
With the victory, McCall has put himself right back in the mix as the top contender for the Pro Series Heavyweight title.
A new interim Pro Series Lightweight Champion was crowned when Frank “The Tank” Caraballo (12-4) defeated Nick Sorg (7-6) by Armbar submission at 1:59 of the second round.
There was a plenty of trash talking back and forth by the fans of both fighters leading into this one, which may have served has motivation for Caraballo on his continuing quest to earn respect amongst the NAAFS Nation.
By defeating a fighter the caliber of Nick Sorg, Caraballo has definitely earned that respect has cemented himself as one the top prospects in this sport.
The Tim Lally Chevrolet Finish of the Night award went to Chris Lozano for his unbelievable knock out of John “The Bullet” Fields in under a minute into the first round of their Pro Series middleweight fight.
Lozano (7-1) caught Fields (3-3) with a straight punch right down the center of the pike that left Fields lying unconscious on the mat, much to delight of the hometown crowd.
It’s safe to say that after two fights, Chris “The Assassin” Lozano is quickly becoming a force in the Pro Series Middleweight division.
Team GriffonRawl’s Paul “Str8 Outta” Compton (12-5) made a successful return to the NAAFS at Rock N Rumble, defeating Jason Carrier (11-12) by Triangle Choke submission at 1:17 of the second round. Compton has always been known for his stand up game and striking abilities, but as a professional he has dedicated more time in the gym to his submissions in order to become a better overall mixed martial artist.
At one point during the fight Compton came very close to locking in the Anaconda Choke, a hold used quite often by his coach and current UFC fighter Jason “Dynamite” Dent.
It was clearly obvious right there that his training with Team GriffonRawl is going to pay dividends as Compton continues his pro career.
2008 NAAFS National Amateur Middleweight Champion “Showtime” AJ Aeschlimann (7-0) lived up to his new nickname at Rock N Rumble in grand style with a first round TKO victory over Nick Tinko (3-2).
Aeschlimann has been out of the cage since winning the title last December in preparation for this pro debut and he more than delivered to his growing fan base.
AJ is another fighter to come through the ranks of the National Amateur Series that is looking to make some big waves as he continues to move forward with his professional career.
AJ Pulling (9-3) of Team GriffonRawl pulled off one of the biggest wins of his young career when he defeated Mickey Hughes (6-5) by Armbar submission in the first round of their Pro Series Welterweight contest.
Pulling has always been an unorthodox fighter, willing to make the necessary adaptations to counter the strengths of his opponent and he did that once again at Rock N Rumble, resulting in yet another victory for this Team GriffonRawl fighter.
For the first time ever, the National Amateur Women’s division headlined the amateur portion of the card and they made the most of this opportunity.
In the end, it was “The All-American Girl” Amanda Wilcoxen (4-0) with her arm raised in victory by virtue of her second round Armbar submission over “The DNA Princess” Jessica Zomcik (2-1).
The win was not without some controversy though and after the fight Wilcoxen declared war on the entire National Amateur Women’s division.
Reggie Parks (6-2) was making sure that his fight at Rock N Rumble wasn’t going to end up in the hands of the judges this time and he did so in a very impressive manner, by defeating the previously unbeaten Huey Contreras (5-1) by TKO in just 35 seconds to make a very loud statement.
An injury to Graham Governor allowed for this opportunity to open up and Parks made the most of it, putting himself right back in the mix in the National Amateur Welterweight division.
It might not have been the most exciting fight on the card to some of the fans in attendance, but John Strmac (7-2) did what was necessary to pick up the win over Sean Barnett (11-4) in their National Amateur Bantamweight division fight. Strmac used a smart strategy, by closing the gap and taking away Barnett’s reach advantage.
In the end, the judges recognized Strmac’s perfect execution of his game plan and he was awarded the Unanimous Decision win.
He now throws himself into the mix of what has already become a very crowded National Amateur Bantamweight division.
In National Amateur Lightweight division action, Eric Noel (7-4) has shown once again why you can never count him out of any fight. He entered this fight against Jay Wadsworth (5-3) on a two fight losing streak and had taken it on less than a week’s notice, but Noel was undaunted in his pursuit of victory. The H2O MMA fighter was able to counter Wadsworth’s submission attempts early on, before eventually securing his own Rear Naked Choke for the victory near the end of Round 2.
In defeating a ranked NAAFS fighter, Noel finds himself back in the hunt at as the road to December begins to really start taking shape.
Dan “Dragon” Spohn (9-3) has been impressive since returning to the NAAFS earlier this year and he looked just as good at Rock N Rumble, where he defeated Lewis “The Beast” Rumsey (9-5) by TKO at 1:53 of the first round in their Light Heavyweight fight.
The National Amateur Light Heavyweight division is still wide open at this point, but Spohn has positioned himself nicely with back to back victories against two very tough opponents.
In National Amateur Heavyweight division action, Matt “The Lumberjack” Lisi (3-1) returned to the NAAFS with a Majority Decision victory over Terry Smith (3-2) at Rock N Rumble.
The first two rounds with split, with both fighters obviously having complete control over the other in each round respectively. Lisi was able to take advantage of a cut over Smith’s right eye and dictate control of the third and final round to pick up the win.
The National Amateur Bantamweight division delivered on yet another exciting fight when Ohio BJJC’s Bill Fienberg (3-1) defeated Chuck Sosbe (4-2) in a battle between two of the division’s top ranked fighters by Unanimous Decision.
The fight actually ended with Sosbe choked unconscious at the bell and he appeared to be out as the judge’s scorecards were being tallied in a rather unusual moment. While many admired his tenacity for holding out, in the end it was rendered irrelevant when Fienberg was declared the victor.
Strong Style Fight Team may have unleashed a new weapon on the National Amateur Heavyweight division in the form of Eric “The Backstabber” Howell (2-0) who defeated Justin Kennedy by Tapout from Strikes at 1:16 of the first round.
Howell is a name to keep an eye on as he continues to progress under Marcus Marinelli and Pablo Castro at Strong Style.
The NAAFS Nation was also treated to live performances from some of the acts on the newly released NAAFS Fight Music: Vol. 1 at Rock N Rumble, including Beyond the Rage, Jon Connor, GmonE, Big Balls, and Red Sun Rising. The NAAFS would also like to thank our great sponsors for making this event possible including Mr. John P. Lennon, Tim Lally Chevrolet, Rev 3 Energy Drink, Dillards Department Store, HeyButler.com, MMALogo.com, BetonFighting.com, SportsTalkCLEVELAND.com, Cadillac Ranch, United States Army, American Fighter, and SportsTime Ohio.
BONUS PHOTOS
NAAFS: Rock N Rumble 3
8/29/09
Nautica Pavilion – Cleveland, OH
Official Results
Preliminary Bouts
AM 265 lbs - Eric Howell 2-0 (Strong Style Fight Team) over Justin Kennedy 1-2 (Columbus MMA) by Tapout from Strikes @ 1:16 of Rd 1
AM 135 lbs - Bill Fienberg 3-1 (Ohio BJJC) over Chuck Sosbe 4-2 (USA Martial Arts) by Unanimous Decision
AM 265 lbs - Matt Lisi 3-1 (Kombat MMA) over Terry Smith 3-2 (Instigator Fight Team) by Majority Decision
AM 205 lbs - Dan Spohn 9-3 (Cambridge Martial Arts) over Lewis Rumsey 9-5 (Williamsport, PA) by TKO @ 1:53 of Rd 2
AM 155 lbs – Eric Noel 7-4 (H20 MMA) over Jay Wadsworth 5-3 (Jamestown MMA) by Rear Naked Choke @ 2:29 of Rd 2
AM 135 lbs - John Strmac 7-2 (Team GriffonRawl) over Sean Barnett 11-4 (Peak Submission) by Unanimous Decision
AM 170 lbs – Reggie Parks 7-2 (Team GriffonRawl) over Huey Contreras 5-1 (Stephen’s Vale Tudo) by TKO :35 of Rd 1
AM155 lbs – Amanda Wilcoxen 4-0 (Morgan MMA) over Jessica Zomcik 2-1 (Team DNA) by Armbar @ 1:21 of Rd 2
PRO 170 lbs – AJ Pulling 9-3 (Team GriffonRawl) over Mickey Hughes 6-5 (H2O MMA) by Armbar @ 3:12 of Rd 1
PRO 185 lbs – AJ Aeschlimann 7-0 (Team Instigator) over Nick Tinko 3-2 (Erie, PA) by TKO @ 3:44 of Rd 1
PRO 145 lbs – Paul “Str8 Outta” Compton 12-5 (Team GriffonRawl) over Jason Carrier 11-12 (Independent) by Triangle Choke @ 1:17 of Rd 2
Featured Bouts
PRO 185 lbs – Chris “The Assassin” Lozano 7-1 (Strong Style Fight Team) over John “The Bullet” Fields 3-3 (Team Instigator) by KO @:47 of Rd 1
PRO 155 lbs - Frank “The Tank” Caraballo 12-4 (Rising Dragon Fight Team) over Nick Sorg 7-6 (Team Predator) by Armbar @ 1:59 of Rd 2
PRO 265 lbs – “Cujo” Joe McCall 7-1 (Team Instigator) over Josh “Heavy” Hendricks 19-6 (Evolve MMA) by Verbal Submission @ 4:05 of Rd 1
About the NAAFS
The North American Allied Fight Series is the region's premiere mixed martial arts organization featuring top amateur and professional prospects along with some of the sports premier fighters including Sean Salmon, Jason Dent (Current NAAFS Lightweight Champion), Ryan Madigan, Josh Hendricks, Ben Rothwell, Jeff Cox, Dan Bobish, Paul Bradley, Noah Inhofer, Matt Brown, and Joe Heiland. The television program NAAFS Cage Fighting can be seen domestically Friday nights at 10:30pm EST on the television home of the Cleveland Indians, SportsTime Ohio, nationally via Direct TV and Dish Network and internationally on GTV.
