NAAFS Combat Challenge 19 Report

On March 24th NAAFS put on Combat Challenge 19. A really solid amateur card with some potential stars. Some really exciting finishes Highlighted by a brutal knock out by Shane Holbert. Also impressive performances by Josh Lasich who not only won, but defeated an undefeated amateur champion in under a minute, as well as once again Fadi Shuman putting on a great performance. Keep an eye on Shuman, he has star written all over him. On a night with several female bouts, Ashley Hawkins was the stand-out for me, as she showed she is one of the top female prospects in the area. Roya Darvishian also impressed me and I felt she was robbed in a decision she should have won. This was a card that really displayed why the NAAFS is one of the top organizations in the sort when it comes to amateur fighters.

1. Amateur 115LBS
Rebecca Heintzman (0-0 Power of One MMA) vs Roya Darvishian (1-1 Bowie MMA)

RD 1: Jab and leg kick by Heintzman. The fighters trade hard shots. Jab by Darvishian. They trade leg kicks. Jab by Heintzman. Hook by Darvishian. Head and body combo by Darvishian. Hook by Darvishian. Three punch combo by Darvishian. Heintzman has a small cut on her nose. Jab to the body and hook to the head by Darvishian. Darvishian lands a hard hook. Leg kick by Heintzman. Hook by Darishian.
I scored RD 1: 10-9 Darvishian


RD 2: Jab by Darvishian. Heintzman charges in but eats several shots. Leg kick by Darvishian. Jab to the body by Darvishian. Hard cross by Darvishian. Darvishian has a bloody nose but didn't see where it came from. They clinch on the cage and Heintzman tries for a takedown. Knee to the body by Darvishian. Heintzman is trying hard to get the takedown. Knee to the body by Darvishian. Heintzman gets the takedown and lands a hammer fist. Darvishian tries for an arm. Heintzman lands knees to the body as the round ends.
I scored RD 2: 10-9 Darvishian

RD 3: They come out trading hard shots. Leg kick by Darvishian. Heinzman shoots and gets a takedown. Darvishian defends well on the bottom. Heintzman postures up and lands a hammer fist. Punch from the bottom by Darvishian. Heintzman lands an elbow to the body. Punch to the body by Heintzman. Heintzman is now in half guard. Darvishian pulls full guard and goes for an arm but the round ends.
I scored RD 3: 10-9 Heintzman
My score card: 29-28 Darvishian

Result: Rebecca Heintzman by Split Decision (29-28/28-29/29-28)

2. Amateur Lightweight
Fadi Shuman (1-0 Mad Dog Fight Team) vs Keagan O'Neill (3-0 Dungeon MMA)

RD 1: Kick to the body by Shuman. They clinch on the cage and Shuman lands a knee to the body. O'Neill looks for a guillotine and it looks tight. Shuman pulls his head out. O'Neill lands an uppercut. They clinch against the cage and trade knees. O'Neill tries for a single leg but can't get it. They separate and Shuman lands a nice hook. O'Neill shoots but good sprawl by Shuman. O'Neill still trying to finish the takedown. Body shots by Shuman. They stand and are still clinched. Shuman picks him up and slams him. Shuman gets the mount but the round ends before he can do anything.
I scored RD 1: 10-9 Shuman

RD 2: They clinch in the center and move to the cage. Shuman is trying for a single and gets it and moves to mount. Punches by Shuman. Shuman gets his back and the rear naked for the tap.


Result: Fadi Shuman by Tapout (Rear Naked Choke) at :53 of Round 2

3. Amateur 135LBS
Ashley Rickard (3-1 4th Down) vs Trisha Barr (4-5 Team Kana)

RD 1: Three punch combo by Barr. Hook by Barr. They clinch in the center but quickly separate. Rickard lands a kick to the body. Hook by Barr and another. They clinch in the center and Barr lands punches and pulls out. Hook by Barr and another. Uppercut by Barr. Two hooks by Barr. Three punch combo by Barr. Hard hook by Barr. Two jabs by Barr. Hook by Barr. Ricard charges in and clinches. They trade shots to end the round.
I scored RD 1: 10-9 Barr


RD 2: Rickard shoots and gets the takedown. Barr gets her back and looks for a rear naked. Rickard defends it well. Rickard rolls and is in Barr's guard. Hard punch by Rickard. Hard body shots by Rickard. More body shots by Rickard. Barr uses good wrist control and avoids more damage.
I scored RD 2: 10-9 Rickard


RD 3: They clinch and Rickard pulls guard and drops down. Rickard goes for an arm and gets it for the tap.

Result: Ashely Rickard by Tapout (Armbar) at :31 of Round 3

4. Devonte Smith (1-1 Brick House MMA) vs Joe Callari (2-4 Griffon Rawl)

RD 1: Leg kick by Callari. They clinch on the cage with Callari looking for a takedown. Body shots by Smith. Callari gets the takedown. Callari is warned for holding the fence. The ref warns them to work and then stands them up. Leg kick by Callari. Smith has him backing up with a hook. They clinch on the cage and Callari looks for a takedown. Head shots by smith. Body shots by Smith. Callari still looks for the takedown as the round ends.
I scored RD 1: 10-9 Smith

RD 2: Leg kick by Callari and then one from Smith. Leg kick by Callari and another. Smith lands a leg kick. They clinch against the cage and Callari looks for a takedown. Smith defends it well. The ref separates them and Callari lands a leg kick. They trade hard shots and clinch on the cage. Hard shots by Smith. Knee to the leg by Callari.
I scored RD 2: 10-9 Callari

RD 3: Jab by Callari. Leg kick by Callari. Callari gets a takedown but Smith ends up on top. Smith lands hard shots and gets his back. More hard shots by Smith. Smith stands and drops punches to the body. More hard shots by Smith. Smith moves into side control. Callari is able to pull guard. Callari sweeps and gets mount. Body shots by Callari. Smith sweeps and gets o top and lands shots. Hammer fist Smith. More shots and the ref stops it. Not too sure about the stoppage here.


Result: Devonte Smith by TKO at 2:52 of Round 3

5. Amateur 130LBS
Ashley Hawkins (2-1 Independent) vs Angie Reinhardt (1-1 Power of One MMA)

RD 1: They trade hooks. Leg kick by Hawkins. Jab by Hawkins. They clinch and move to the cage. Takedown by Reinhardt. Reinhardt is bleeding bad from the nose. Hawkins is able to stand and they clinch on the cage. Knees by Hawkins. More knees from Hawkins. Knee by Reinhardt. The ref separates them. Hook by Hawkins. They clinch against the cage and Hawkins lands head shots.
I scored RD 1: 10-9 Hawkins


RD 2: They come out trading shots. Hard leg kick by Hawkins. They clinch on the cage and Hawkins looks for a guillotine. Body shots by Hawkins. Head shots by Hawkins. Foot stomp by Hawkins. They separate and Hawkins lands hard punches. Hawkins gets a takedown and moves to side control. Head shots by Hawkins. Reinhardt tries to stand and Hawkins lands body shots.
I scored RD 2: 10-9 Hawkins


RD 3: They trade leg kicks. Hook by Reinhardt. They clinch and move to the cage. Reinhardt's nose is bleeding really bad. Knee to the body by Reinhardt. Knees from Hawkins. Foot stomp by Hawkins. Reinhardt tries for takedown. They trade knees. Hawkins tries for a takedown. Knee to the body by Hawkins. They separate and trade hard shots as the round ends.
I scored RD 3: 10-9 Hawkins
My score card: 30-27 Hawkins

Result: Ashley Hawkins by Unanimous Decision (30-27/30-27/30-27)

6. Amateur Welterweight
Tony Johnson (3-1 Team Hybrid/Sam's Gym) vs Josh Krizan (3-1 The Wrestling Factory Cleveland)

RD 1: They trade shots. Hook by Krizan. Takedown by Krizan. Krizan gets his back. Johnson is trying hard to stand. Body shots by Krizan. Head shots by Krizan. Krizan gets his back again. Krizan looks for a rear naked but Johnson holds on till the end of the round.
I scored RD 1: 10-9 Krizan



RD 2: They clinch against the cage and Krizan gets a takedown. Good defense by Johnson. Krizan gets his back. Krizan decides to stand but it allows Johnson to get his back. Krizan gets into guard. Krizan stands and lets Johnson up. Krizan hurts him with a body shot. Krizan takes him down and gets his back but the round ends.
I scored RD 2: 10-9 Krizan



RD 3: Johnson looks real tired. They clinch and Krizan hurts with punches and takes him down. Krizan stands and lets him up. Takedown by Johnson. Krizan rolls and gets his back but can't do any damage.
I scored RD 3: 10-9 Krizan
My score card: 30-27 Krizan


Result: Josh Krizan by Unanimous Decision (3-27/30-27/29-28)

7. Amateur 120LBS
Ashley Delk (1-0 B&G Gym/Hahn's Martial Arts) vs Rebecca Gruitza (2-2 Evolve MMA)


RD 1: They clinch in the center and Delk gets a takedown. Gruitza lands shots from the bottom. Delk lands from the top as Gruitza looks for a choke. Head shots by Gruitza. Gruitza is trying hard for the triangle and holds the position for a lengthy time but can't get it as the round ends.
I scored RD 1: 10-9 Gruitza


RD 2: They trade hard shots and Delk gets a takedown. Gruitza tries for the triangle. Delk lands head shots. Gruitza switches to an armbar and gets it for the tap.


Result: Rebecca Gruitza by Tapout (Armbar) at 1:22 of Round 2

8. Amateur Middleweight
Chad Catri (3-2 Relson Gracie Sandusky) vs Shane Holbert (3-1 Buckeye MMA)


RD 1: They trade shots. Holbert hurts him with a hook. Two hard leg kicks by Holbert. Takedown by Catri. Head shots by Catri. More head shots from Catri. Catri gets his back but Holbert gets up. Holbert lands a hook that puts him out cold.


Result: Shane Holbert by KO at 2:26 of Round 1

9. Amateur Featherweight
Dominic Mazzotta (3-1 Ed Vincent MMA) vs A.J. Carl (5-2 Griffon Rawl)


RD 1: They trade leg kicks. Carl shoots in by Mazzotta gets his back. Head shots by Mazzotta. Mazzotta looks for a rear naked. Head shots by Mazzotta. Mazzotta again looking for a rear naked and gets it for the tap.


Result: Dominic Mazzotta by Tapout (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:42 of Round 1

10. Amateur Light Heavyweight
Wayne Lanum )5-0 Buckeye Training & Fitness Academy) vs Tony Hodges (3-2 Team Prototype)

RD 1: Lot's of circling. Lanum charges in and clinches against the cage. Knee to the body by Lanum. Hodges tries for a single leg but cant get it. Lanum tries for a double leg and gets it. Hodges avoids damage. Short body shots by Lanum. The ref stands them. Cross by Hodges.
I scored RD 1: 10-9 Lanum


RD 2: Lot's of circling. They trade hard shots. Leg kick by Lanum. Hodges tries for a takedown and they clinch on the cage. Foot stomp by Lanum. Knee to the body by Hodges. Hodges tries fora single leg but Lanum instead gets a nice takedown. Lanum gets side control. Hodges gets half guard. Head shots by Lanum.
I scored RD 2: 10-9 Lanum

RD 3: Jab by Lanum and then he gets a takedown. Hodges tries for a guillotine but isn't in a good position for it. Body shots by Lanum. Head shots by Lanum. Hodges works and gets on top. The ref stands them. Cross by Lanum. Both fighters look tired. Leg kick by Lanum.
I scored R 3: 10-9 Lanum
My score card: 30-27 Lanum

Result: Wayne Lanum by Unanimous Decision (30-27/30-27/30-27)

11. Amateur 115LBS
Ronda Gale (4-3 Dungeon MMA) vs Rachel Sazoff (2-2 Ricardo Almeida BJJ)



RD 1: They trade hard shots. Body kick by Gale. They clinch and Sazoff lands head shots. Sazoff looks for a double leg and gets the takedown. Sazoff gets side control. Gale gets half guard, but Sazoff gets side control again. Gale works hard to stand and does. Body shots by Gale. Sazoff lands a punch to the leg. Sazoff gets a takedown to end the round.
I scored RD 1: 10-9 Sazoff


RD 2: Kick to the body by Gale. They clinch against the cage and Sazoff looks for a takedown. Sazoff gets the takedown and side control. Sazoff gets her back and lands hard punches. Gale works hard to escape and manages to get into Sazoff's guard. Hammer fist by Gale. Gale lands hard head shots and then body shots.
I scored RD 2: 10-9 Gale


RD 3: They trade hard shots. Leg kick by Gale. Cross by Gale. Hook by Gale. Cross by Sazoff. Sazoff clinches on the cage and looks for a takedown. Sazoff gets the takedown and side control Sazoff lands head shots. Sazoff gets mount and lands short head shots.
I scored RD 3: 10-9 Sazoff
My score card: 29-28 Sazoff


Result: Rachel Sazoff by Unanimous Decision (30-27/30-27/29-28)

12. Amateur Welterweight
Josh Lasich (3-0 Evolve MMA) vs Dave Lastafka (6-0 Vanyo Fight Team)



RD 1: Leg kick by Lasich. Lasich shoots in and gets a takedown. Lastafka stands but Lasich pulls him back down and gets an Achilles lock for the tap.



Result: Josh Lasich by Tapout (Achilles Lock) at :31 of Round 1

Submission of the Night: Ashley Rickard

KO of the Night: Shane Holbert

Fight of the Night: Ashely Hawkins vs Angie Reinhardt

Jason's Weekly Blog: Hard Work, Determination and Smashley

This week I want to talk about hard work and determination. I think a great way to discuss those two things is by talking about Ashley "Smashley" Hawkins. So let's do just that.

About a year and a half ago, I covered my first MMA card. It just happened to be NAAFS Eve of Destruction. An all female card. First fight up was Ashley Hawkins against Trisha Gerus. What do I remember about that fight? In all honesty not a whole lot. But what I do remember is it was a fun fight and the two girls brought it. I do remember that Ashley showed some potential, but to me it was the potential to be a decent fighter. Not much more than that. I did not know at that time how good Ashley would become or that she would become such a good friend.

Later through mutual friends I would get to know Ashley. Her desire to learn and improve really impressed me. She was always asking questions, always trying to pick up even the smallest bit of advice. Her next fight was with Trisha Barr. Everyone knows how hard that fight was for me. Because I consider Trisha and Ashley to be such good friends. Ashley lost a majority decision, and I said then and will still say, I agree with the decision. I felt Trisha won. But Ashley impressed. She fought a girl with more experience and hung in there. In fact, if it wasn't for an incredible main event, that fight would have been fight of the night. I know Ashley wasn't happy with a loss, but I couldn't have been more proud.


Then we move to a fight with Emily Easton. Emily showed up way over the agreed upon weight. Ashley allowed Emily to drop a couple pounds and took the fight. Ashley dominated the fight. Easton was content to just get it to the ground and lay on her. From the bottom, Ashley was still the aggressor and looking for ways to finish. What I was most proud of, was in those situations, when someone takes you down and just lays there, a fighter can get impatient or frustrated and make a mistake. Ashley didn't do that. She stayed composed and did what she had to do.

Since then Ashley has left her gym. She needed a place to train. So she makes a two hour drive often to train here. So in addition to getting her frequent training in with someone I respect so much in Jessica Dinch, she gets to train with someone as talented as Jessica Eye. In a short time with people up here, Ashley's game has improved so much. I finally started seeing confidence in her eyes. While she had the talent, I wasn't sure if I saw confidence. I mean, yes she was always confident she could win, but I don't know if she was confident enough to become a star. But when you train with someone like Jessica Eye, it's naturally going to improve your confidence.

So she took a fight with Angie Reinhardt. If you are unfamiliar with her, you should know, Angie has some real skills. This was going to be a tough test for Ashley. Ashley told me her game plan, and I was impressed that Ashley developed that game plan, because it was the exact game plan she would need in this fight. Every time I watched Ashley spar or roll, I saw her more and more confident and better each time. Also this would be Ashley's first real weight cut as she was fighting at 130LBS, lower than she had before. She did everything right and actually came in at 129LBS. Days leading up, there was no doubt in her mind she was going to win this fight. I think a big part of that confidence was that Jessica Eye and Pablo Castro agreed to corner her. Jessica is atop pro who Ashley respects and admires. Pablo is an amazing Jiu-Jitsu teacher and has cornered many talented fighters. A few days before the fight Pablo worked on some very specific stuff with her, and I was impressed that Ashley never took her eyes off Pablo. Everything he said, she soaked in.

So, its time for the fight. Ashley had her bleeding almost from the beginning. Soon, Ashley had her spraying blood on those of us at cage side. Ashley's stand up was great. She fought smart. She didn't let Reinhardt drag her into a brawl. She used her jab nicely and made each punch count. In round two it was just a beautiful thing to watch. She got it down and did the exact thing Pablo had shown her just day before. I couldn't help but smile because I had watched Pablo teach her that, and it was great to see Ashley do exactly what she was shown. Round three was more of the same. Ashley controlling the fight and doing what she wanted to do. When it was over, Ashley had won all three rounds.

So whats this hard work and determination thing I was talking about? Ashley has shown me, that no matter what road blocks were put in her way, no matter how hard things got, she did what she had to do to improve. She sucked it up and said "I am going to get better. I can be a talented fighter. I am gonna show people what I can do". All the progress I have made in my bodybuilding competing goals, makes me appreciate someone like Ashley, who had road blocks like me, and she knocked those road block out of the way. That makes Ashley not just a friend, but someone I admire. I am very proud and consider myself lucky to have Ashley as a friend. Because her friendship is good enough, but there is the benefit of having someone like her who wont let obstacles get in her way, and it inspires me to not let obstacles get in my way.

Last night, Ashley Hawkins put a lot of people on notice. Ashley is here to stay and is a top prospect. Ashley Hawkins is going to be beating a lot of people and winning titles. Simply put, Ashley Hawkins is going to keep being Ashley Hawkins.