THE BIG MAN MAKES HIS MMA DEBUT!

 On June 21, 2008, Rat Pack's assistant kickboxing instructor and one of the few legitimate Super Heavyweight fighters in the area, T. Bubba Naratil made his mma debut at the House of Blues in Atlantic City against Kyle Weaver of Team Vicious MMA.

In Mr. Weaver, we picked an opponent with substantial cage experience who had dominated his last few opponents easily tapping them in round 1 and who actually is bigger (weight wise) than Bubba.
 
Unfortunately, as it turns out, his opponent saw Bubba hitting the pads back stage and decided then and there (per his own admission) that he would not bang with Bubba at any point. Instead he chose to bull rush for the take down at the beginning of each round and, basically, use his weight to hold Bubba down and negate his striking ability. (A very bright strategy quite frankly!)
 
Hence we ended up with three rounds of Bubba working primarily off his back. Nevertheless, he got several sweeps, reversals, landed some great ground strikes and threw some devastating knees from cross sides which reverberated throughout the venue.

Alas, however, based presumably on the take downs and maintaining top position for the majority of the fight, the three round decision went to Kyle Weaver who, as it turns out, is a very classy young man and to whom we offer our sincere congrats on his win.
 
Having said that, the most telling moment of the fight occurred at the end of the third round when the bell rang, Bubba jumped to his feet and looked fresh and ready to go while his opponent literally had to be helped up off the ground by two of his corner men and sat on a stool for several minutes awaiting the decision.
 
Bottom line, no losers here my friends. Bubba took on a tough, experienced opponent, took him all three rounds and left him breathless on the mat at the end of the fight. Everyone in attendance agreed, this kid has a great future and with some more experience will be a force to be reckoned with at the national level.
 
We are all very, very proud of you Bubba and thank you for putting it on the line for Rat Pack, now get to work for NAGA big man!
 
Also, a big thank you to the many Rat Pack members who made the trip including Ed, Alan, Andy, Brother-in-law Joel, Rick, Olivia, Junior, Brian "Don't call me Kimble Slice" Kimble, Brian Miller, Chuck, Lars, Justin, Bill, etc. I know Bubba appreciated your support, as did I.

ANOTHER WIN FOR JOEL ROBERTS!

On May 3, 2007 Rat Pack's Joel Roberts improved his MMA record to 3-1 with a hard fought victory over a very tough Pete Deyonker of NJMMA at New Breed Fighters, House of Blues, Atlantic City.

Going into the fight, Joel had less than 4 minutes or cage time as each of his prior fights had ended early in the first round. The same was not the case on Saturday night though as Joel's opponent, despite being taken down several times each round as a result of Joel's wrestling prowess, survived several submission attempts and hung in there for the full 3 rounds.

In the end, Joel was awarded a well earned unanimous decision with two judges scoring the fight 29-28 and with one judge scoring it in Joels favor, 30-27. 

Joel will most likely fight again on June 21st on a card on which Rat Pack's Bubba Naratil will make his MMA debut, and will then look to turn pro.

We'll keep you posted and congratulate Joel on another job well done! 

"The Most Devastating Knockout in Ultimate Fighter History"

…now belongs to Rat Pack's Matthew "Don't call me the Answer" Riddle!!!

On April 9, over 200 of the Rat Pack faithful jammed the Palmerton Hotel to celebrate the premier party of Episode 2 of the Spike TV reality series The Ultimate Fighter, Season 7 with cast member and fellow Rat Packer Matthew Riddle.

In addition to the Rat Pack family, there were several news paper and television reporters on hand to watch as Matthew earned his way into the Ultimate Fighter house with a second round KO of Matt Serra brown belt Dan Simmler which was promptly dubbed "the knockout of the century" by none other than UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

To say we are proud of Matthew for his great accomplishment would be, to quote Rampage "the understatement of the century" and we are all looking forward to watching the events in the house as the unfold in the coming weeks.

Having viewed the previews for the rest of the season and having spoken with the producers of the series from both Spike TV and the UFC, I can tell you that Matthew made quite an impact on the house and that, love him or hate him, no one who watches the series will ever forget him!

We thank Matt for allowing us to share in his dream and wish him all the best in his very bright future!

We also thank the Christman family, owners of the Palmerton Inn, (the home away from home for most of the Rat Pack gang) for hosting one of the best parties in the town's history!

JOEL ROBERTS DOES IT AGAIN!

On March 29th we were joined by around 25 of the Rat Pack faithful at the "House of Blues" in Atlantic City for a great card presented by "New Breed Fighters".
 
An excellent time was had by all and the weekend was highlighted by Wrestling Joel Roberts returning to his winning ways via tapout in the form of a guillotine choke at 45 seconds of round 1!!!!
 
Frankly, I feel Joel outclassed all of the fighters that night and we expect even better things for him at his next "New Breed" appearance on May 2nd.
 
The only down side of the evening was the fact that, once again, Joel got very little "cage time" which may mean that we will need to take a few more amatuer fights before he turns pro later this year.

RAT PACK AT THE WORLD'S

Things went well up at the NAGA World Championships pm April 5-6 considering that it was, in fact, THE WORLDS!
 
On Saturday Rat Pack bagged 4 medals in the Intermediate Master's Division. Darrell Ringler took Gold, Dennis took third, Dave Christman took second and Andy took third. Great job guys and thanks for the effort. I will provide more details soon.
 
Thanks also to Jeff Johnson and Fredo who competed that day. You guys will get them next time!
 
On Sunday the kids fought hard with new comer Austin being the suprise of the day, taking Gold in the Novice division. Bryson Berard, in his first NAGA, snagged Intermediate Silver and Joey Bubble took Intermediate silver loosing in the finals by only one point in the midst of a submission attempt.
 
Congratulations boys!
 
Also competing that day were Spencer Wahlmark and Jake Christman both of whom put up a valient effort and sent a message that they will be forces to contend with at Battle at the Beach!
 
As for D-Boy, he entered the Expert division for the first time and was in a stacked 5 man division. Unfortunately, the way they set the brackets up, he was the only one in the division who did not get to fight twice. His first match was a war against a Kid from Brazil who is a BJJ expert and, despite having several excellent submission attempts including 2 spinning ankle locks, D lost at the 3:30 mark of a 4 minute match thus bumping him from the competition. (The same kid submitted two other people that day in less than 20 seconds!)
 
Bottom line, there were 5 guys in the division and I think everyone that was there would agree that there were two guys he could have beaten easily and two he could not. Personally I am very proud of him for stepping out on the mat against the best of the best and putting on one hell of a show. The title will be his, it's only a matter of time.
 
Again great job everyone and thank you for your efforts. Thanks also to Wrestling Joel and Matt Riddle for their tireless efforts both days in coaching their team mates.
 

OH WELL…BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME

…to Primal Fighting, Rhino Fight Team, Jack's Kick Boxing and every other school out there who has the nerve to step into the cage with the Simrell MMA Fight Team!
 
As most of you know by now, the Simrell MMA Fight Team, comprised of members and coaches from Simrell MMA, Rat Pack and RMA went down to Delaware Saturday night and proceeded to wipe the cage floor with the competition, both figuratively and literally.
 
Highlights of the evening included:
 
1) a 32 second win by Jerome McClane of Simrell MMA in a match where his opponent was unconscious via rear naked choke for more than twice the length of the match itself (should have tapped sooner dude!);

2) a 47 second tap out by the amazing, vanishing man (he dropped 20 lbs before the fight) Kyle Harrington of Simrell MMA via arm bar;
 
3) A gutsy three round split decision win for Brett Martinez of Rat Pack following a first round foot injury which would have led a lesser man to throw in the towel;
 
4) A superb showing by Chris Kratz of Rat Pack in which, after only one month of serious training following a medical absence, he very nearly submitted his far more experienced opponent twice via arm bar before a controversial early stoppage at the end of round one which even the ref later acknowledged was a bad call; and,
 
5) A reign of destruction from "Gentleman" Chris Zimmerman which had the entire crowd gasping with each body shot before the ref mercifully stopped the action late in the third round.  Zimmerman's triumphant exit from the cage to the sounds of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkries" is a memory which will stick with everyone in the arena for some time to come! (Shannon and I, on the other hand, will remember his following morning waffle making abilities!)
 
The only down side to the evening was the "no-show" by Wrestling Joel Robert's opponent and the way the situation was handled by the promoter which left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
 
Otherwise, it was one hell of a night and notice was certainly served that this team is a force to be reckoned with and is here to stay.
 
Thank you to the nearly 55 Simrell/Rat Pack/RMA supporters who made the trip to support the guys, to the coaches and Junior for their tireless efforts throughout the night and, of course, to the guys who put it all on the line.

RAT PACK FIGHTING SYSTEM'S
2007 AWARDS BANQUET

 On February 23, 2008, Rat Pack Fighting Systems celebrated the completion of it's third year of operations with our second annual Awards Banquet. With over 115 of the Rat Pack faithful, family and friends in attendance, the party was a huge success and was reflective of the amazing strides which Rat Pack has made over the past 12 months enroute, along with its other Simrell MMA Association academies, to becoming THE  power house in mixed martial arts in Pennsylvania and beyond.

 Highlights of the banquet included presentations by Rat Pack Instructor of the Year, Forrest Meyer, "Wrestling" Joel Roberts garnering the coveted "Fighter of the Year Award", the formal recognition of the James Simrell MMA Association Fight Team class of 2007-2008 and Connie Riddle accepting the "Man of the Year" award on behalf of her son Matthew who will be back in action at Rat Pack on March 4^th!

 Below is a list of the Rat Pack members who received special recognition for achievements over the past twelve months. Congratulations to all we look forward to even greater things in 2008.

 Check back soon for pict of the event!

CHILDREN'S AWARDS

Grappler of the Year Female: Shannon
Grappler of the Year Male: Joey Bubble
Outstanding in Striking :Chase Faulstick
Outstanding in Grappling: Anthony Shanley
Most Promising Striker: Bailey Spengler
Most Promising Grappler: Eli
Most Promising MMA: Joe Shanley
Most Aggressive Opponent: Kane Nelson
Most Improved Grappler: Cody Becker
Most Improved in MMA: Jake Christman
Most Technical Grappler: Michael Shanley
Outstanding Newcomer: Domenic Borger
Outstanding Competitor: Spencer Wahlmark
Outstanding in Wrestling: Bryson Berard

ADULT AWARDS

Man of the Year: Matthew Riddle
Fighter of the Year: Wrestling Joel Roberts
Most Promising in MMA: Chris Kratz
Outstanding in MMA: Brett Martinez
Outstanding in MMA: Zimmerman
Outstanding Newcomer: Dave Christman
Outstanding Grappler: Dennis Ringler
Most Improved Grappler: Jeff Spengler
Outstanding in Striking: Bubba Naratil
Most Improved Striker: Jason McGowan
Most Promising Striker: Bridget Naratil
Most Promising Grappler: Andy Biel
MVP: Chuck Glass/Karen Bubble
Instructor of the Year: Forest Meyers

RAT PACK'S WINTER BELT TESTING SESSION

Sunday November 25^th was the date of the most recent belt testing session at Rat Pack and, once again, the event was a smashing success.

 Those in attendance were privileged not only to watch the testing sessions of several Rat Pack members but, also, to participate in a mini-seminar put on by triple black belt (Judo/Sambo/BJJ)  JAMES SIMRELL of Scranton and Renzo Gracie black belt and BJJ phenom BRIAN MILLER.

 Congratulations go out to those who tested that day including Rat Pack instructors Jr. Ortiz who earned his long overdue Blue Belt as well as a stripe; Todd Teele who earned a stripe on his Blue Belt; Bubba "Bubba-Licious " Naratil who earned his Blue Belt; and Matt "The Answer" Riddle who earned a well deserved Purple Belt. Congrats also to Rat Pack members Brent Yoder and Jeff Johnson who also garnered Blue Belts on this occasion.

 Great job guys!

A special thank you to our friend and director of our BJJ and MMA programs, MR. SIMRELL without whom none of this would be possible, to CHUCK GLASS, owner of Reality Martial Arts, the newest member of the Simrell MMA Association, for attending and for sharing his skills with us so generously over the past several months (we hate to loose you brother!) and to BRIAN MILLER for taking the time to work with the Rat Pack gang both during and after the testing session.