The NAAFS Women are the Talk of the Men’s Show
Caged Fury 7 Brings the NAAFS Nation Closer to December’s Finals
Written by Jake Digman
Photos by Ryan Heckert
(10/11/09 – Cleveland, OH) – The North American Allied Fight Series brought it’s unique brand of athleticism and entertainment to the IX Center for the first time as part of the Men’s Show Cleveland, a three day extravaganza geared towards all things guy related. On Friday night, HeyButler.com was proud to present NAAFS Caged Fury 7 featuring the National Amateur Semifinals as the featured showcase event. In an ironic twist, it was the National Amateur Women’s Division that had everybody talking at an event entitled the Men’s Show.
The two competitors are now set for December 5th’s Night of Champions event to determine who will be crowed the first ever NAAFS National Amateur Women’s Champion.
In the main event, Jessica Eye (4-0) of Strong Style Fight Team remained unbeaten and retained her number ranking by defeating Stow’s Marcia May (4-3) in what had become quite the heated local rivalry.
Eye once again displayed her dominating strength, going with the tried and true thai clinch to dictate control of the fight.
After a several well placed knees to the mid section, Jessica was able to hook in a standing guillotine choke for the win in the first round and to secure her place in the finals.
While Jessica Eye was battling Marcia May inside the cage, Marie Colangelo (3-1) sat on commentary and observed to see who would be her future opponent come December 5th.
Competing for in the NAAFS for the first time in over a year and a half, Marie showed no signs of ring rust as the Eastside Combat Club competitor took the much taller Michelle Sansom (1-2) to the ground and displayed the skills that she has long since been known for.
Once the fight reached the ground, Colangelo was able to take top mount and connect with a series of punches until the referee was given no choice but to call a stop to the action.
With the win Colangelo improved to 3-1 overall and secured her spot in the National Amateur Women’s finals.
In fact, Marie was so impressive in her return to NAAFS competition that she was awarded with the Tim Lally Chevrolet Finish of the Night.
What was once deemed by many to be a one woman show has been injected with new blood and it has the entire NAAFS Nation torn between Eye and Colangelo as to who will represent the company as the first ever National Amateur Women’s Champion. The only question that remains is what weight the Women's Title bout will be held at, as the 2009 rankings have been on a pound for pound structure and one competitor is at 125lbs, while the other competes in the 135lbs division. The NAAFS is currently working on a solution that will be fair towards all parties involved.
The National Amateur Heavyweight finals will see a battle of undefeated fighters, both of whom are eager to walk out with championship gold.
Main Street MMA’s Jason “Rampage” Rauch (9-0) remained undefeated and secured his spot in the National Amateur Finals with a second round TKO victory over a very tough Garrett “The Timbomb” Conaway (5-2), and will now be facing off against Rick “Have A Nice” Day (5-0) who defeated Pete “King Kong” Hunter (9-5-1) in the other semifinal bout.
Rauch answered his critics once again by displaying poise and technique to defeat a very lethal threat in Conaway, using his size and ability to dictate the fight until finishing off his opponent with a ground and pound TKO in the second round.
USA Martial Art’s Day withstood all that Pete Hunter had to offer, picking up the submission victory in the final round by Triangle Choke and showing that he can never be counted out a fight.
One more time it will be a battle of unbeaten warriors as #1 ranked Jason “Rampage” Rauch takes on #2 ranked Rick “Have A Nice” Day to determine the 2009 National Amateur Heavyweight Champion.
One half of the 2009 National Amateur Light Heavyweight finals are now set, as Jason Butcher (5-0) used his highly touted ground skill to figure out the right method to defeated Dan “Dragon” Spohn (8-4) by Rear Naked Choke at 1:38 of the second round. Even though he trains at Team Jorge Gurgel and Columbus MMA, this fight marks the first time in his young career that Butcher defeated his opponent by submission despite his previous dominance at OGC Submission Grappling events.
Now Butcher finds himself waiting on the winner of the upcoming fight between # 5 ranked Larry “Superfreak” Shuck (6-2) and #1 ranked Dane Bonnigson (7-0) at NAAFS North Coast Showdown 4 to determine the 2009 National Amateur Light Heavyweight Champion.
The 2009 National Amateur Middleweight finals will be a rematch between two fighters who know each other very well, as once again #1 ranked Kevin Zalac (7-0-1) will put his unbeaten record on the line against #2 ranked Chase “Y U Doem Like That” Owens (4-1) to determine the champion.
Owens earned the title opportunity first by defeating Marcos Pecina (7-2) by Rear Naked Choke at 1:55 of the first round.
After his win, Owens wished his good friend Kevin luck in his fight but was very forthcoming in his willingness to step inside the cage one more time if it meant becoming an NAAFS National Amateur Champion.
In fact, Owens stood cage side and cheered on Zalac in his fight against Jeff McKee later in the night.
The positive motivation seemed to have worked as Zalac earned the Unanimous Decision victory in a very tough fight.
With the win, Zalac ensured that the NAAFS tradition of at least one National Amateur title fight being a rematch would continue in 2009.
The National Amateur Welterweight division continued it’s chaotic state of insanity at Caged Fury 7, as for the first time ever two members of the same team have qualified for the National Amateur Finals.
The division’s top ranked fighter Reggie Parks (7-2) was the first to reach the finals, but he did so without having to step inside the cage. Although originally scheduled to take on USA Martial Arts’ Larry Ray, Parks graciously stepped aside to allow his teammate Bryon McCroskey to step in and fight since McCroskey’s scheduled opponent couldn’t make it due to a medical emergency. In reward for his graciousness and from his previous performances throughout the year, Parks was awarded a slot in the finals.
Later in the night, McCroskey (6-2) earned a TKO victory via a straight ankle lock that caused an injury to Parks (4-3) leaving him unable to continue the fight.
McCroskey advanced to the 2009 National Amateur Welterweight finals with the victory, where his fellow Team GriffonRawl teammate Reggie Parks also awaits. Things have become even more interesting to say the very least as we await an official decision from both the NAAFS and Team GriffonRawl on this situation.
The National Amateur Lightweight finals were determined at Caged Fury 7 as once again Kevin Rothacker (5-1) of Strong Style Fight Team finds himself back in the finals, this time taking on the unbeaten George Comer (4-0) of Team GriffonRawl in a renewal of one of the most infamous rivalries in all the NAAFS.
Comer advanced to the finals first with a win over the previously unbeaten Jordan Knippelberg (5-1) of Pride Gym Canada by Unanimous Decision.
It appeared like Kevin Rothacker was going to follow suit in his fight against Jay Wadsworth (5-4), as many had the fight split one round a piece as they headed into the final frame. Rothacker managed to score takedown and control position, but wasn’t really able to make a move from there.
Then with less than 20 seconds remaining in the fight, Rothacker connected with a shot to the temple that dropped Wadsworth and allowed him to rein down punches to finish the fight and earn his spot in the National Amateur Lightweight finals for the first time since 2007, where a very young Rothacker lost to Paul “Str8 Outta” Compton.
The National Amateur Featherweight Semifinals saw a rematch between #1 ranked Doug Kulbis (7-0) of Evolve MMA and #5 ranked Ryan “The Loose Cannon” Lose (4-3) and although the end result was the same, the fight itself was very much different.
Both fighters had shown just how much they had improved since their last battle, competing in what many fans felt was the fight of the night. Kulbis displayed several moves not often seen in amateur MMA, including a crucifix and a reverse lying triangle choke.
However, the uncanny Lose seemed to have a counter for everything that Kulbis could throw until the final frame where Kulbis locked in a Rear Naked Choke for the submission victory. Sitting on commentary for the fight was Kyle Dolan, who advanced to the National Amateur Featherweight finals virtue of a bye when his opponent Bhrandon “Bad Intentions” Poindexter was unable to compete due to an injury.
In National Amateur Bantamweight division semifinal action, JP Jaranowski (7-0) showed why they call him The Jackhammer with a first round TKO victory over Sean Barnett (9-4) to secure his spot in the finals. Training with names like current Pro Series Featherweight Champion Cody “The Wolverine” Stevens and former Pro Series Heavyweight Champion Justin Black at the Fight Farm has paid dividends for Jaranowski, who now finds himself one step closer in bringing home some gold to the Fight Farm camp.
The NAAFS would like to thank all the great fans in the NAAFS Nation who attended this past Friday night’s event. A special thank you also goes out to HeyButler.com and the Cleveland Men’s Show for hosting this event as well as Mr. John P. Lennon, Tim Lally Chevrolet, USANA, Rev 3 Energy Drink, US Army, BetonFighting.com, MMALogo.com, MMAFit.com, SportsTalkCleveland.com, Dillard’s Department Stores, YellTap.com, Bloody Buddy Fight Gear, and SportsTime Ohio for their continued support of the NAAFS.
BONUS PHOTOS
NAAFS Caged Fury 7 Quick Results
Friday October 9th, 2009 * IX Center * Cleveland, OH
155 lbs - George Comer 4-0 (Team GriffonRawl) over Jordan Knippelberg 5-1 (Pride Gym Canada)
185 lbs - Chase Owens 4-1 (Team TAP) over Marcos Pecina 7-2 (USA Martial Arts) by Rear Naked Choke @ 1:55 of Rd 1
205 lbs - Jason Butcher 5-0 (Team Jorge Gurgel) over Dan Spohn 9-4 (Cambridge Martial Arts) by Rear Naked Choke @ 1:38 of Rd 2
265 lbs - Rick Day 5-0 (USA Martial Arts) over Pete Hunter 9-5-1 (Team Beatdown) by Triangle Choke @ 1:07 of Rd 3
135 lbs- Marie Colangelo 3-1 (Eastside Combat Club) over Michelle Sansom 1-2 (Independent) by TKO @ 1:58 of Rd 1
INTERMISSION
135 lbs - JP Jaranowski 7-0 (The Fight Farm) over Sean Barnett 9-5 (Peak Submission Fight Team) by TKO @ 1:34 of Rd 1
145 lbs - Doug Kulbis 7-0 (Evolve MMA) over Ryan Lose 4-3 (Team GriffonRawl) by Rear Naked Choke @ 1:43 of Rd 3
155 lbs - Kevin Rothacker 5-1 (Strong Style Fight Team) over Jay Wadsworth 5-4 (Jamestown MMA) by TKO @ 2:48 of Rd 3
170 lbs - Bryon McCroskey 6-2 (Team GriffonRawl) over Larry Ray 4-3 (USA Martial Arts) by Verbal Submission from Injury @ 2:35 of Rd 1
185 lbs- Kevin Zalac 7-0-1 (Next Level Jiu-Jitsu) over Jeff McKee 4-4 (Lancaster Academy of MMA) by Unanimous Decision
265 lbs - Jason Rauch 9-0 (Main Street MMA) over Garrett Conaway 5-2 (Team Nowhere) by TKO in Rd 2
125 lbs- Jessica Eye 4-0 (Strong Style Fight Team) over Marcia May 4-3 (Thompson's Academy) by Guillotine Choke @ 1:29 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 Jason Dent (Current NAAFS Lightweight Champion), Ryan Madigan, Josh Hendricks, Ben Rothwell, Jeff Cox, Dan Bobish, Paul Bradley, Noah Inhofer, Matt Brown, Sean Salmon, 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.
