Damian Grabowski (born May 12, 1980) is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who last competed in 2019. A professional since 2007, he has fought in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, Bellator,

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (English: ''Martial Arts Confrontation'') better known by its initials KSW, is widely considered to be the premiere mixed martial arts organization in Poland and one of the leading in Europe. History Martin Lewandowsk ...

(KSW), and

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with othe ...

Biography

Grabowski is a multiple Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion of Poland, Vice Champion of the World and European Champion.

Mixed martial arts career

European career

Grabowski defeated Kiril Handzhiyski at FX3 on June 13, 2009 in London (a last-minute replacement for Gary Rawlings). Grabowski was then scheduled to fight

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...

veteran

Valentijn Overeem Valentijn Overeem (; born 17 August 1976) is a retired Dutch professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently signed with United Glory. A professional competitor since 1996, he has previously fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, ...

at a Beast of the East event in November in

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

, Poland and also Thorsten Kronz (known from Team Germany on M-1) on December 5 in

Darmstadt, Germany Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...

on Mix Fight Gala IX. Damian sustained a shoulder injury during training just a few days before the Overeem fight and had to drop out of both bouts. Grabowski then returned in 2008 with a first-round armbar win against Dion Staring and then fought in June against Michał Kita to determine the best heavyweight fighter in Poland. After connecting with a powerful upkick that cut the eyebrow of Kita, who slipped and fell out of the ring, Grabowski was declared the winner by doctor stoppage due to a heavily swollen eye. Grabowski won bouts with Stav Economou at MMA Attack 3, with Tadas Rimkevicius at M-1 Challenge 39, and with Kenny Garner at M-1 Challenge 44: Battle of Kulikovo. The last one was for the M-1 Heavyweight Championship. During M-1 Challenge 50 (August 15, 2014), Grabowski fought against his friend, also the Polish fighter, unbeaten

Marcin Tybura Marcin Tybura (born November 9, 1985) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, Tybura previously fought fo ...

. Tybura managed to take Grabowski down early in the first round and won the fight by mean of the north–south choke. Surprised, Grabowski didn't spare the compliments for Tybura after the fight, as the championship belt left in Poland.

Bellator

MMAROCKS.PL first announced in 2010 that Grabowski signed a contract with the American promotion Bellator and would compete in their heavyweight tournament at

Bellator 25 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and m ...

on August 2010. His opponent in the first round was Scott Barrett. Grabowski won the fight via unanimous decision. He was expected to face

Neil Grove Neil Grove (born 18 January 1971) is a South African-English Heavyweight professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, Grove has competed for the UFC, Bellator Cage Rage, UCMMA, and the SFL. Background Originally ...

in the semi-finals, but instead faced

Cole Konrad Minnesota Golden Gophers Cole Konrad (born April 2, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter. Konrad won a gold medal at the 2005 Pan-American Championships. He won the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, NCA ...

. His thirteen-fight winning streak was snapped, as he lost the fight via unanimous decision, being unable to stop the takedowns of Konrad, the future winner of the tournament. After defeating Joaquim Ferreira and

Eddie Sanchez Eduardo Arturo Sanchez (born November 4, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2004, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, Titan FC, Final Fight Championship ...

for the MMA Attack promotion, Grabowski fought one more time in Bellator in May 2012 where he defeated Dave Huckaba at Bellator 67.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After amassing a record of 20 wins against 2 losses, Grabowski was signed by the UFC to a contract. He debuted against Derrick Lewis on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Grabowski faced Anthony Hamilton on July 30, 2016, at

UFC 201 ''UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 30, 2016, at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Background This was the third event that the organization has hosted in Atl ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Grabowski was expected to face

Viktor Pešta ) , fighting_out_of = Prague, Czech Republic , height = 6 ft 3 in , weight_lb = 205 , weight_class = Heavyweight (2010–2019, 2023-) Light Heavyweight (2020–2022) , reach = , style = , trainer ...

on January 15, 2017, at

UFC Fight Night 103 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Grabowski was removed from the bout on December 21 for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by

Alexey Oleynik Aleksei Alexeyevich Oleinik (born June 25, 1977, as Oleksíy Oleksíyovych Olíynyk) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo fighter who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, competing in their heavyweight division. He b ...

. Grabowski was expected to face Christian Colombo on May 28, 2017, at

UFC Fight Night 109 ''UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 109'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on May 28, 2017, at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. Background Preliminar ...

. However, the pairing was scrapped as both fighters sustained injuries in the weeks leading up to the event. The pairing was left intact and was rescheduled for July 22, 2017 at

UFC on Fox 25 ''UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 25'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2017 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Backgroun ...

. Subsequently, Colombo was removed from the fight on June 22 for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by

Chase Sherman Chase Sherman (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former bare-knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC. Background Born and raised in D'Ibervill ...

. Grabowski lost the fight by unanimous decision. On August 14, 2018, it was announced that Grabowski was released from UFC.

KSW

After knocking out Karol Bedorf to start his stint in KSW, Grabowski was expected to challenge Phil De Fries for the KSW Heavyweight Championship at KSW 50 on September 14, 2019. However, Grabowski was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury.

Championships and accomplishments

* Bellator Fighting Championships ** Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament Semifinalist *Ultimate Cage Fighters Championship **UCFC 2009 Heavyweight Tournament Winner *

**M-1 2013 Heavyweight Champion

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 22–5 , Karol Bedorf , TKO (punches) , KSW 49: Soldić vs. Kaszubowski , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:56 , Gdańsk/

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest ci ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 21–5 , Jose Rodrigo Guelke , TKO (punches) , FEN 22: Poznań Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:21 ,

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 United States Census. Uniondale is home to Hofstra University's nort ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–4 , Anthony Hamilton , KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:14 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–3 , Derrick Lewis , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:17 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–2 , Konstantin Gluhov , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , M-1 Challenge 53: Battle in the Celestial Empire , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:47 ,

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–2 ,

, Technical Submission (north-south choke) , M-1 Challenge 50: Battle on Neva , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:28 ,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 19–1 , Kenny Garner , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , M-1 Challenge 44: Battle Of Kulikovo , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:30 , Tula, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 18–1 , Tadas Rimkevicius , TKO (punches) , M-1 Challenge 39 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:28 ,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 17–1 , Stav Economou , Decision (split) , MMA Attack 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Katowice, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 16–1 , Dave Huckaba , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 67 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rama, Ontario Rama is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations community on the Chippewas of Rama First Nation reserve in Ontario, Canada. It is the home of Casino Rama. The community sports complex is called the Mnjikaning Arena Sports Ki, which was the ho ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 ,

, Submission (kimura) , MMA Attack 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 , Katowice, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 , Joaquim Ferreira , Submission (guillotine choke) , MMA Attack , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:57 ,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 29 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–0 , Scott Barrett , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 , Michał Kita , TKO (doctor stoppage) , BOTE: Grabowski vs. Kita , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:25 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Dion Staring , Submission (armbar) , BOTE: Chahbari vs. Souwer , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:44 ,

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in th ...

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Kiril Handzhiyski , Submission (rear-naked choke) , FX3: Rough Justice , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:27 ,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Miodrag Petković , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UCFC: 20,000 Dollar Tournament , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:48 ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Lincon Rodrigues , Submission (kimura) , UCFC: 20,000 Dollar Tournament , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Martinsh Egle , TKO (punches) , UCFC: 20,000 Dollar Tournament , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Elvedin Tukić , TKO (punches) , UCFC: 20,000 Dollar Tournament , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Martin Čermák , TKO (submission to punches) , Pro Fight 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Deividas Banalities , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Bushido Lithuania: Hero's 2008 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:52 ,

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Dion Staring , Submission (armbar) , Fight Sensation 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Doetinchem Doetinchem (; Low Saxon: ) is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek. The municipality had a population of in ...

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ireneusz Cholewa , TKO (punches) , Mielnie Gala , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Mielno Mielno (german: Groß Möllen or ) is a resort town in Koszalin County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Mielno. It lies approximately north-west of Koszali ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Paweł Kubiak , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Gladiator's Series , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:33 ,

Tychy Tychy (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Tichau; szl, Tychy) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city boders Katowice to the north, ...

, Poland ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grabowski, Damian 1980 births Living people Polish male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Polish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Opole Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Biography

Mixed martial arts career

European career

Bellator

Ultimate Fighting Championship

KSW

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links