Nick Osipczak

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Nick Osipczak
Born Nicholas Dominic Osipczak
30 December 1984
London, England
Other names Slick
Residence London, England
Nationality British
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Division Welterweight
Reach 76.0 in (1.93 m)
Style Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Tai Chi Chuan
Fighting out of London, England
Team

Rough House (past)

Eddie Kone's Academy of Jiu Jitsu (present)
Mixed martial arts record
Total 8
Wins 5
By knockout 2
By submission 3
By decision 0
Losses 3
By decision 3
Draws 0
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Nicholas Dominic Osipczak (born 30 December 1984) is an English professional mixed martial artist, most famous for his fights and wins in the welterweight division of the UFC. He was also a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom.[1] Nick is also a known practitioner of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi Chuan Kung Fu.

Background

Osipczak was born in London to a Polish father and an American mother, and was raised in South London. He attended St. Olaves Grammar School, from which he graduated in 2003, and he then enrolled at Loughborough University and obtained a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, Accounting and Financial Management, graduating in 2007.

Mixed martial arts career

At the age of 18 and while he was still attending his course at Loughborough University, Nick joined a local martial arts club, the Hung Kuen Shaolin Kung Fu Club. Being a diligent martial arts practitioner, he soon won the UK National Kung Fu Open Weight Championship. However, Nick was inspired to take up MMA after watching UFC's Ultimate Knockouts DVD, and started searching out the best places and coaches to train with up and down the United Kingdom.

For a while, Nick served as a sparring partner for some of the UK's best MMA fighters, and most notably in 2008 he was invited to be the sparring partner of Michael Bisping during his preparation for his upcoming fight against Chris Leben at UFC 89 in Birmingham, UK.

After two years of training in MMA and helping others too, Osipczak also began competing in the UK, and went undefeated in all his amateur and semi-professional bouts.

In March 2008, Nick also made his professional MMA fighting debut and offered his opponent a “winner-takes-all” bet, which his opponent initially refused. When they eventually fought, Nick won the fight in only 76 seconds, and displayed what would later be known as his “helicopter punch”.[2] The opponent for his third professional bout accepted a “winner-takes-all” deal, and Osipczak won by rear naked choke, taking his record to 3-0.

All of Nick's professional fights had been won in under two minutes and relatively easily, which helped to catch the attention of the casting crew when he auditioned for the The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom, while UFC's president, Dana White, was also present.

The Ultimate Fighter

Osipczak also appeared on The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom. He first defeated the British MMA professional fighter Tommy Maguire by knock out in the first round in an elimination match, earning him the trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, to compete on the show. Osipczak then had his second fight against Team United States fighter Mark Miller. Osipczak defeated Miller via a second round knockout from a powerful head kick, which was voted in the top 15 all-time TUF knock-outs.[3]

However, Nick lost his semi-final fight against DaMarques Johnson, although Dana White called the fight one of the best fights in TUF history.

UFC

Osipczak made his UFC debut at The Ultimate Finale 9 on 20 June 2009, and he fought his former TUF cast mate and Team United States fighter, Frank Lester in Las Vegas, Nevada. Osipczak defeated Lester by using a rear naked choke. His overall performance in that night helped him renew his contract for three more fights for the UFC.

Osipczak faced TUF 7 alumnus, Matthew Riddle on 14 November 2009 at UFC 105 in Manchester, UK. In a pre-fight interview, Osipczak stated that Riddle has no serious finishing ability and is most often than not a fighter who likes to "grind out a decision". Riddle countered the statement by saying that he considers Osipczak without considerable experience against wrestlers, which he attributed to the wider lack of wrestling training of UK MMA fighters. However, Osipczak dominated throughout the fight by showing a superior standing up and striking as well as grappling game. When Osipczak at some point fully mounted Riddle in the final round, he started a vicious ground and pound barrage of punches and elbow strikes which made the referee Mark Goddard to end the fight at 3:53 in the final round. UFC commentator Joe Rogan mentioned that this was a "huge performance by Osipczak".

Osipczak then fought Rick Story at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Osipczak lost the fight via a controversial split decision. According to MMA Fanhouse who were doing a live play-by-play from the event, "Most on press row didn't agree with the decision. Looked like Osipczak won Rounds 2 and 3." Osipczak was defeated by Greg Soto at UFC 118 in Boston, Massachusetts, after the fight went all three rounds and the judges awarded the fight to his opponent via unanimous decision. Osipczak was upset by Duane Ludwig at UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany, via a split decision, which again sparked some controversy.

Students

In 2011, Osipczak started running his own MMA academy in South London, the New Wave Academy, which immediately became one of the most up and coming MMA academies in London and he became a mentor to many London-based professional MMA fighters.[4] Although he officially left his academy to two of his students in 2012, as he was aiming at having more time to further develop his martial arts knowledge and skills, he currently continues teaching some of the top British professional MMA fighters at the premises of Eddie Kone's Academy of Jiu Jitsu. In early 2014, Nick announced that he is ready to return to MMA competitions, feeling “reborn”.[5][6]

Personal life

Nick currently lives in London, UK, with his girlfriend and their son.[7] Their son's first name is Shen, which means Spirit (神) in Chinese. He has 1 sibling, Alex Osipczak who runs the youtube channel 'Spencer and Alex' alongside fellow YouTuber, Spencer Owen

In his spare time, he enjoys reading books about Oriental and particularly about Chinese philosophy and martial arts. His favourite books are Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching and Sun Tzu's The Art of War. He also enjoys painting.[8]

Selection of paintings by Osipczak

MMA record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 5–3 Duane Ludwig Decision (split) UFC 122 13 November 2010 3 5:00 Oberhausen, Germany
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 5–2 Greg Soto Decision (unanimous) UFC 118 28 August 2010 3 5:00 Boston, Massachusetts, USA
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 5–1 Rick Story Decision (split) UFC 112 10 April 2010 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 5–0 Matthew Riddle TKO (punches and elbows) UFC 105 14 November 2009 3 3:53 Manchester, England
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 4–0 Frank Lester Submission (rear naked choke) TUF 9 Finale 20 June 2009 1 3:40 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 3–0 Geoff Hayes Submission (rear naked choke) ZT 12: Fight Night 12 30 August 2008 1 1:32 Brighton, East Sussex, England
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2–0 Nigel Whitear Submission (rear naked choke) FX3: Fight Night 8 22 June 2008 1 1:55 Reading, Berkshire, England
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1–0 Brendan Flanagan TKO (punches) FX3: Fight Night 7 15 March 2008 1 1:16 Reading, Berkshire, England

Titles and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ "Nick Osipczak Biography". Scramble Stuff.
  2. ↑ "Video: Osipczak vs Flannigan". Youtube.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The 15 greatest KO's in TUF history". cagepotato.com.
  4. ↑ "New Wave Academy MMA". New Wave Academy MMA.
  5. ↑ "Osipczak Facebook page". Facebook.
  6. ↑ "Osipczak Twitter Page". Twitter.
  7. ↑ "Baby of Tai Chi". Youtube.
  8. ↑ "Raised Spirit". raisedspirit.com.
  9. ↑ "Nick Osipczak Biography". ScrambleStuff.

External links