Very nice article about Raphael "Raffy" Marascio on JiuJitsuMania.com right now. They see Raffy as the "next generation" of grapplers and have started to cover him on their site.  It's great to see Raffy getting the attention he most definitely deserves.  In addition to the Raffy article, Jiu Jitsu Mania has a lot of great articles, training videos, interviews and more on their site, so check them out.

So now we know the secret of Edson Barboza's success!  It's Raffy Marascio, the nine year old MMA phenom.  Raffy spent the weekend at The Armory, which is one of MMA's top camps and home to Edson and other top UFC fighters.  Raffy rolled and sparred with Barboza, and a great time was had by all.

Joe Mullings, owner of The Armory and Edson's manager, made this meeting possible.  Joe is doing a great job guiding Barboza's career and even he is impressed by Raffy's skill sets.

The following video of Raffy and Edson in action was shot and edited by Raffy's Dad Matthew, who is doing an outstanding job of giving Raffy all the tools he needs to succeed in the sport he loves. You can check it out after the jump.  Also be sure to take a look at Raffy's website: RaphaelMarascio.com, where you can see a ton of pics of Raffy with some of the biggest names in MMA.  Everyone from Dana White to Fedor Emelianenko is a fan of this kid, and once you see a few of his videos, you'll be a fan too.  Here's the vid with Edson and some pics of the two throwing down.

As readers of this site know, I've been amazed by 9 year old Raffy Marascio's well rounded MMA skills and have given him lots of coverage here.  You can hit the Raffy MMA tab at the top to see all the articles I've done about this kid.  But better than that, you can now go to his own website and see a ton of great pics and videos of Raffy in action.

The site is RaphaelMarascio.com, and it chock full of great content already, with lots more being added almost every day.  If you want to follow the career of Raffy as he makes his ascent in the world of mixed martial arts, his website is the place to do it.  There are tons of pics of Raffy with some of MMA biggest stars and lots more.

If you've never seen Raffy in action before, check out the above video.  It's a comilation of a bunch of his monster takedowns in competitions all over the country. The kid is a phenom!

Raffy Marascio continues his winning ways.  He just picked some more trophys by winning his division for 8 Year old Light Weights 59.9 Pounds.  This makes him the 3x defending IKF / PKB Muay Tai World Champion.  We'll have lots more on that later.  For now, check out the above video of Rampage Jackson saying that he's a fan of Raffy's.  Didn't I tell you this kid is going places?

Raffy Marascio continues to burn up the grappling circuits.  He recently earned a Silver Medal in the 2011 USA Judo Junior Olympics National Championships in Irving Texas, making him the 2011 2nd place national Junior  Olympic Champion for 26 kilos and under in the intermediate 1 male division.  It also ties him for 4th in the country in his Judo Olympic roster rank for Judo for Intermediate Jr's.  In the tournament’s 22 man double elimination bracket, Raffy fought 8 times, losing only to the national champion, who is a year older.

Raffy also placed first in the Naga Atlanta expert division, 59 pounds and under class.  So this kid is definitely living up to the promise he's been showing since he was a baby.  We've got some great video of his performances to check out.  You can see them all on his YouTube channel:  Raphael Marascio.

You can check out these links for more info on his judo competitions:

And here are a couple videos of Raffy in action at the judo nationals and NAGA.

Raffy Marascio, fresh off his win at the ISKA MMA championships, would like to take the opportunity to thank MMAHQ for their support.  MMAHQ offers great a great "Deal of the Day" everyday, and have some of the best prices and products you will find.

MMAHQ is partnered with BJJHQ, a place where you can find all your necessary BJJ gear at amazing prices.  Check out both places before you look anywhere else.  And for wholesalers, check out Zengu, the leader in fighting sports wholesale.

Here's a video of Raffy in his huge trophy room with a special message for MMAHQ.com.

We featured Raphael "Raffy" Marascio recently, and called him the future of MMA.  Well, it looks like the future is now, because Raffy just won the 2011 ISKA World Sport MMA Championship in the 8-9 year old division for kids under 90 pounds.  Raffy weighs only 59 pounds and had to beat much bigger kids to win the title, which he did and in amazing fashion.

Raffy is managed by Victory Sports Management, of which I am a partner, and I'm excited to be a part of Team Raffy.  My partner Gary Marino and I do not charge anything to help guide Raffy's career.  We are just thrilled to be involved with this kid because he's not only a very talented fighter, he's a great kid.  And his dad Matthew is doing a masterful job of guiding him and nurturing the champion within.

We are actively seeking investors to help Raffy off set some of the costs of traveling and entering into his grappling, striking and MMA tournaments.  You can shoot me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if interested.

Here is a video of Raffy dominating a much larger opponent at the ISKA tournament. His takedowns are brutal!

Raphael Marascio is a phenom in every sense of the word.  At just eight years old, he has amassed more accolades than most people do in a lifetime.  He has won titles in judo, wrestling, BJJ, kickboxing and Muay Thai, and plans on competing in the Olympics in his teens before taking the MMA world by storm.

Raffy, as he is known, is well known on the grappling and kickboxing circuits, and competes regularly at prestigious tournaments such as NAGA, GQ  and the Sunshine State Games.   His dad Matthew, a former boxer, has instilled the right stuff in Raffy, who loves nothing more than to compete with the best.  He often competes against older and bigger kids and fairs very well.   One of the things that makes Raffy so special is the fact that he trains in many different disciplines, but when he competes he goes against kids who are specialists in one discipline.  The fact that he regularly places in the top three shows just how well rounded and accomplished he is.

This year was a great one for Raffy.  He placed 1^st in the NAGA U.S. Nationals Gi and No Gi expert divisons.  He placed 1^st in the Florida IKF/PKB Muay Thai kickboxing tournament and is the reigning champion.  He placed 1^st in grappling at the Europa Super Show.  And he is the reigning Florida State judo champion, having placed 1^st in the Florida Sunshine State Games.   And there are many more tournaments he would like to enter.

Raffy came to my attention through MMA matchmaker and manager Gary Marino.  Gary and I are partners in Victory Sports Management, and we are representing Raffy pro bono, because we believe that he is unique and can achieve his dreams of MMA greatness.

TheGARV.com has sponsored Raffy for a tournament and MMAHQ.com has as well.  Raffy and his dad do not seek money for profit; they simply want to cover the costs of traveling to the events and the entrance fees.

If anyone is interested in helping Raffy achieve his goals of entering many different tournaments this year, please let me know.  You can reach me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

In exchange for the fees and expenses, Raffy will wear the sponsor’s gear and make a video thanking them, as he did with MMAHQ.com.

Here are some videos of Raffy in action.  Prepare to have your minds blown!  Check out his YouTube channel for the complete collection:  Rafael Marascio YouTube.