At Hardrock 48 on June 23, 2012, the 145 Title was taken by Joe Schiff (4-0) def Chris Dunn (Champion)(10-5) via unanimous decision (Judge 1 49-46, Judge 2 49-46, Judge 3 49-46). Joe has spent most of the summer training at Reaction MMA where he has been a hard-working training partner. As a very tough young man with a strong desire to learn and improve and an admirable work ethic, great things can be expected from this young fighter. Congratulations to Joe!
Some of the Reaction MMA fighters will be competing in Las Vegas, NV on July 6th and 7th at Grappler’s Quest, part of the UFC Fan Expo being held in conjunction with UFC 148. This event is huge from many perspectives. Many of the best amateur grapplers in the world will be competing. Hundreds of sponsors will be part of the Expo and looking for talent to represent their brands. Thousands of fight fans will be on site to witness this event. For many, this will be the largest stage upon which they’ve ever competed. Will you be there? If not, you can watch the action on FUEL TV!
Some of the team went up on Friday night to make-weight for Saturday’s NAGA event in Columbus. This was the smallest NAGA event we’ve ever seen and you could tell that the NAGA team were disappointed at the turnout. Despite the low turnout, there were some very good competitors there and plenty of good matches took place. Meredith took 4 first places and a 2nd in here very first NAGA event. John finally got some NAGA Gold in both gi and nogi. Wolf and Rocky got belts. Jack attended his first NAGA event and competed in the expert division against brown belts even though he is blue. And Chad competed against a tough and experienced collegiate wrestler.Below are some video highlights from today’s action at NAGA Columbus.
On June 16th, a group of the Reaction MMA grapplers will be in Columbus, OH for the NAGA Columbus grappling tournament. For this event we are especially excited to have Jack Podgorski competing in the blue belt division at <150 lbs. The venue for this event is the Greater Columbus Convention Center – Hall E, so this should be a first-class, roomy and comfortable event for both spectators and competitors. Wolfie will compete in the Expert Teen 14-15 under 109.9 lbs. Rocky in the Expert Kids 12-13 under 89.9 lbs. Also, this will be Meredith’s first big NAGA event and she will be competing in the Beginner Teen 14-15 under 119.9 lbs. There might even be a few more Reaction fighters competing depending on how schedules work out.
UPDATE: More fighters going to Columbus. John Lakes will compete at White Belt 185 lbs. Sirena Madere will be at White Belt 150 lbs, and Chad will be competing at Purple Belt 170 lbs.
Reaction MMA Kids Team at OGC Lexington June 9, 2012
Today, the entire Reaction MMA Kids grappling team and some of the adults had a great time and competed at the OGC (Ohio Grappling Challenge) event in Lexington, KY. The venue was set at Dunbar Highschool in a nicely air-conditioned gym and was the most impressive and comfortable venue we’ve ever had the pleasure to compete in. For the kids, the rules were the typical IBJJF type matches. The adults competed in a “Submission Only” format which ran smoothly. Although there were a few matches that ran for 30 minutes or more until a submission was obtained, most of the matches went surprisingly fast. I suppose when nobody has to worry about points, the fighters can focus only on getting the submission, which was quite refreshing to experience.
At the end of this post are some of the best photographs taken today by the wonderful and talented Mrs. Munson. These photos capture some of the submissions obtained by our fighters and there is one of Trey giving his signature torment to his opponent.
In the VIDEO below are some of the highlights from the Reaction MMA Kids. All of the kids did really well. The standouts from today taking double golds were Meredith who competed against all teen boys and made two of the cry, Wolf, and 6 year-old Trey.
Reaction MMA Kids Team at OGC Lexington June 9, 2012
Monday is Deadline to register for OGC LEX Submission Only
The OGC is very excited to bring their unique “Submission Only” format to the heart of the Bluegrass State! BOTH Gi and No Gi.
WHEN: Saturday June 9, 2012 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT
WHERE: Paul Laurence Dunbar High School – 1600 Man o’ War Boulevard Lexington, KY 40513
PLEASE NOTE…the “Submission Only” divisions are ONLY for Adult Competitors…the youth competitors (under 17 years) will compete under the regular time limits & points. If you are 15 years or older, you may choose to compete in the “Adult divisions”, only with a parents consent.
ALL COMPETITORS MUST REGISTER ONLINE by June 4th…NO EXCEPTIONS! There will be NO REGISTRATION at the door! In order to make this event run as smooth & efficient as possible, all divisions will be bracketed in advanced! Register Here!!!
Besides all the FREE Give-A-Ways from companies such as Shoyoroll, Subculture, & Foundation Fight Company…you will not want to miss the chance to be a part of the ever-growing expansion of the OGC!
If you were not able to hear Cage Passion Radio live last night as they interviewed Jack Podgorski of Reaction MMA ahead of his AAMMA 26 145 lbs Title fight coming this Saturday, May 26th at Shimmers Ballroom in Covington KY, you can catch a replay of the show at the link below. Jack is stronger, better, and more powerful than he’s ever been and those traits really came through in this interview so you will want to listen for sure. This interview will get you excited about this fight, guaranteed.
Wolfie and Rocky Report From Grappler’s Quest Midwest
This was the second time Grappler’s Quest held an event in Ohio, the first being one of their very first events. Ohio is the 3rd biggest state for grappling and the GQ folks said they are glad to be back in Ohio. We are glad to have them within driving distance. It was a well run event overall with rock solid referees, some were BJJ Black Belts. Professor Jorge Gurgel started off the event by giving a short seminar to benefit Autism Awareness. The venue was pretty hot with not much air flow so hopefully something can be done about that next time. The competition was excellent with deep divisions for both kids and adults. The big prize of the day was to winners of Advanced divisions who took both gi and nogi, free entry into all Grappler’s Quest events for the rest of 2012. Wolf took the belt and the big prize of the entry fees. Rocky ran into a more experienced grappler from Pennsylvania who he’s looking forward to getting another shot at soon. The adult divisions were very deep, especially in mens blue, purple and brown. Videos of the 13-15 y/o under 114 lbs Advanced Gi and Nogi finals are below.
In Charleston, WV, Friday, Reaction MMA undefeated pro Tyler Voth defeated Joe Pegg in the 135 lbs division in the first round via armbar. In his three professional outings Tyler has yet to let anyone escape the first round, finishing all of his opponents via submission. Perhaps what says the most about Tyler is the fact that on the following day, he spent the entire Saturday training with his team, participating in Reaction MMA Hell Day. Very impressive fighter and team-mate. Congratulations to “Little Tarzan”. Check out recap of the fight by BluegrassMMA.
If you would like to get some insight into what goes into preparing for a professional MMA fight, check out the blog of Reaction MMA undefeated pro Matt Metts as he sheds some light into his daily preparations for XFC 18 coming June 22 LIVE on HDNET. This is the biggest fight so far in Matt’s career and he is 110% focused on training both hard and smart. If you haven’t seen Matt Metts fight before, you are in for a treat as you can ALWAYS expect serious fireworks when this Wooly Headed Warrior is in the cage! 38 days and counting and you can follow along as he posts updates.
At Hardrock 48 on June 23, 2012, the 145 Title was taken by Joe Schiff (4-0) def Chris Dunn (Champion)(10-5) via unanimous decision (Judge 1 49-46, Judge 2 49-46, Judge 3 49-46). Joe has spent most of the summer training at Reaction MMA where he has been a hard-working training partner. As a very tough young man with a strong desire to learn and improve and an admirable work ethic, great things can be expected from this young fighter. Congratulations to Joe!
