JG MMA 2008 RE-CAP
In a year that many Americans were
happy to see go because of high gas prices, the housing market crash and a
recession, many Team Jorge Gurgel members found success. The year 2008 was a break out year for JG
fighter Dustin Hazelett, the year Mike Patt’s hard work paid off by making it to
the UFC, and a year in which Rich Franklin got back to his winning ways among
other notable achievements for JG members.
Our head trainer and JG founder,
Jorge Gurgel had an up and down year as a fighter. The year started out well for Jorge as he won
his March UFC fight against a tough John Halverson in Columbus. Unfortunately Jorge’s next two fights in the
UFC in 2008 were losses for Jorge. Jorge
had a tough time dealing with the losses as well as some nagging injuries but,
with the love and support of his family and friends, Jorge landed on his feet as
he always does at the end of the year.
Jorge was released from the UFC and almost immediately signed with the
Strikeforce fighting organization. No
date has been scheduled for his first fight in Strikeforce but we at JG are
looking forward to Jorge getting back to his winning ways and eventually
returning to the UFC.
Rich Franklin got back to his
winning ways in the UFC as well as moving up a weight class. Rich fought a tough ground fighter in Travis
Lutter in April, and Rich won via TKO in the second round. In September, Rich moved up to the 205lb
weight class to take on friend and former training partner Matt Hamill. Rich and Matt put their friendship on hold in
a fight which showcased Rich’s stand up skills.
Rich dominated the fight and finished Matt in the third round with a well
placed body kick. Rich spent the end of
2008 preparing for the much anticipated fight with fellow superstar Dan
Henderson at 205lbs. The fight will
headline UFC 93 which takes place in Ireland on Saturday the
17th of January, 2009.
One could say that 2008 was a break
out year for our young superstar in the making Dustin Hazelett. Dustin’s first fight of 2008 was in Columbus in UFC 82 during
which Dustin fought top five ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck. Dustin came out strong and had Josh in
trouble in round one but eventually lost to Josh in the second round. Although Dustin lost this fight his
performance was a wake up call to the world that Dustin is a force to be
reckoned with. Dustin’s second fight of
2008 saw him fighting Josh Burkman during the Ultimate Fighter 7 finale. Dustin won this fight in amazing fashion with
what Joe Rogan called the best arm bar he has ever seen. In November, during UFC 91, Dustin fought
another up and coming welterweight fighter in Tamdan McCrory. Dustin once again proved to the world that
his submission game is up there with the best in MMA as he submitted Tamdan in
the first round. To go along with his
two wins in the UFC in 2008, Dustin was also voted by UFC.com as the
10th and 1st best submissions of the year as well as being
awarded Submission of the Night during the Ultimate Fighter 7 finale and UFC
91. And as great as that all is,
Dustin’s proudest moment of 2008 was when he received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu
black belt from head trainer Jorge Gurgel.
Dustin is scheduled to fight in March of 2009 in UFC 96 as he climbs the
UFC’s welterweight ladder.
2008 was also the year in which
Mike Patt broke through into the UFC.
Mike fought Jarred Taylor in the URC fight organization on August 15, 2008
and won in the first round with a submission.
Within a week of this fight Mike got the call all fighters dream of, it
was from the UFC wanting Mike to fight.
The only problem was the UFC wanted Mike to fight in less than two weeks
against a tough Tim Boetsch. Without
hesitation Mike took the fight with less than two weeks to prepare. Mike was unable to finish Tim and lost the
fight but, because of his willingness to fight on such short notice, he still
received a contract with the UFC. Mike
is scheduled to fight Brandon Vera in March 2009 in UFC 96.
JG fighters Luke Zachrich and Matt
Brown were introduced to America during the Ultimate Fighter
television show on Spike TV. Both
fighters won their first fights and were able to guarantee a spot in the
house. During the six week filming
period both fighters handled their selves in a professional manner and performed
well on the show. Luke lost his second
fight on the show in an exciting slugfest with Dan Crammer. Matt Brown won his first fight but lost his
second fight to eventual TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah. Matt was invited back to the TUF 7 finale
were he beat Matt Arroyo by TKO in the second round. Matt also fought on UFC 88 against Dong Hyun
Kim and lost a controversial decision.
Matt then went on to fight on UFC
91 and submitted Ryan Thomas in the second round by arm bar. Matt is scheduled to fight in UFC 96 against
Pete Sell in March 2009. Luke was not
signed by the UFC but continues to train and hopes to get back to UFC. Luke fought in September of 2008 and knocked
his opponent out in 15 seconds of the first round with a devastating left
hook.
Other notable accomplishments of
2008 were Blackbelts giving to Clint Crabtree (Michigan) Jermey Walters (West Virginia) Brian Atterson (North Carolina) while Dan Doerner Dave Freetage (Columbus) and Jon Meyer each received their jiu-jitsu brown belts from
Jorge Gurgel. These men are tireless
workers in the gym and bring a strong work ethic and positive attitude with them
when they train. Other professional
fighters Prince Mclean, Jon Meyer, Tommy Hayden, and Paul Bowers put up wins in
2008. Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jon
Stutzman returned to JG MMA to teach class four nights a week as well as
privates lessons.
We also had countless members of JG
MMA compete and win in grappling tournaments, muay Thai tournaments, jiu-jitsu
competitions and amateur fights. JG
continues to grow and become stronger with quality trainers, fighters and
students. 2008 was a great year for Team
JG and we plan on making 2009 even better.
View the updated BJJ Lineage to see all the Black and Brown Belts under Jorge GurgelView the updated BJJ Lineage to see all the Black and Brown Belts under Jorge Gurgel
MDUNLAP
Comments