Nicholas Dominic Osipczak (born 30 December 1984) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

professional

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, incorp ...

, most famous for his fights and wins in the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division of 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 ...

. He was also a cast member of

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

's '' The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom''. Nick is also known for being one of the first people in history to represent the art of

Tai Chi Chuan Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. Ta ...

Mixed Martial Arts 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, inc ...

competitions.

Background

Osipczak was born in London to an English father of Polish descent and an American mother of English, German, Irish and Serbian descent. He was raised in South London until his youth. He attended St. Olaves Grammar School, from which he graduated in 2003, and he then enrolled at

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

and obtained a bachelor's degree in

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

and

Financial Management Financial management is the business function concerned with profitability, expenses, cash and credit, so that the "organization may have the means to carry out its objective as satisfactorily as possible;" the latter often defined as maximizin ...

, 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 ''

'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 Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...

during his preparation for his upcoming fight against

Chris Leben Christian Cyrus Leben (born July 21, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist, referee, and bare knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor from 2002 until 2013, he most notably competed in the UFC in the Middleweight division, compiling ...

UFC 89 ''UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on October 18, 2008, at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Background The event was headlined by a middleweight b ...

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”. 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 Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom, while

's president,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, was also present.

''
The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...
''

Osipczak also appeared on The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom. He first defeated the British MMA professional fighter

Tommy Maguire Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

by knock out in the first round in an elimination match, earning him the trip to

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 Vegas ...

, 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. However, Nick lost his semi-final fight against

DaMarques Johnson DaMarques Johnson (born June 28, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist. He competed for the UFC and King of the Cage and was the Welterweight runner-up on '' The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom''. Background Johnson ...

, although

called the fight one of the best fights in ''TUF'' history.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Osipczak made his

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 ...

debut at The Ultimate Finale 9 on 20 June 2009, and he fought his former ''TUF'' castmate and ''Team United States'' fighter, Frank Lester in

Las Vegas 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 Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. 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

. Osipczak faced ''TUF 7'' alumnus,

Matthew Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986, in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is currently inactive due t ...

on 14 November 2009 at

UFC 105 ''UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 14, 2009 in Manchester, United Kingdom at the Manchester Evening News Arena. This event aired on the same day, via tape de ...

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 Mark Goddard (born Charles Harvey Goddard; July 24, 1936) is an American actor who has starred in a number of television programs. He is probably best known for portraying Major Don West in the CBS series ''Lost in Space'' (1965–1968). He a ...

to end the fight at 3:53 in the final round.

commentator

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American 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 ...

mentioned that this was a "huge performance by Osipczak". Osipczak then fought

Rick Story Rick Thomas Story (born August 28, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2007-2018, he last competed for the Professional Fighters League, but is better known for his 19-fight tenure with the UFC. Background Story ...

UFC 112 ''UFC 112: Invincible'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Due to the time zone difference in Abu Dhabi, UFC 112 was shown live on pay-per-view in the U ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. 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 Gregory Francis Soto (born June 3, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist. Soto is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , George Sullivan , KO (punch) , CFFC 14 , , align=center, 1 ...

UFC 118 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 ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, 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 Duane Paul Ludwig (born August 4, 1978) is an American mixed martial arts coach, retired professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Ludwig formerly held the unofficial fastest knockout record in the UFC after his win against Jonathan Goul ...

UFC 122 ''UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 13, 2010 at König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. This event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the ...

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

, 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. 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 Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology * Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

''. In early 2014, Nick announced that he is ready to return to MMA competitions, feeling “reborn”.

Return to Mixed Martial Arts competition

On June 27, 2015, after almost 5 years off from competition, Nick returned to headline the inaugural Macto Championships. Held in the Arena:MK, Milton Keynes, Nick faced boxing-specialist Kyle Redfearn, and defeated him via submission (RNC) 2 minutes 4 seconds into the first round. This occasion marked the first time in history that the Internal Martial Arts (

Neijia ''Neijia'' ( 內家) is a term in Chinese martial arts, grouping those styles that practice ''neijing'', usually translated as internal martial arts, occupied with spiritual, mental or qi-related aspects, as opposed to an "external" approach ...

) and in particular

T'ai chi ch'uan Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an neijia, internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and medita ...

were represented in the sport of

. Osipczak is expected to fight again for Macto Championships, with the view to returning to the UFC, and has publicly stated he aims to win the UFC belt by 2018. Nick revealed a painting he had created the week leading up to the bout, entitled “Victory”, and announced that he will be releasing a new painting to coincide with each subsequent fight. Nick used the ancient Chinese symbol known as the

Bagua The bagua or pakua (八卦) are a set of eight symbols that originated in China, used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts. Each consists of three lines, each lin ...

on his walk-out T-shirt and banner for this fight.

Personal life

Nick currently lives in Oxfordshire, UK, with his partner and their son. Their son's first name is Shen, which means Spirit (神) in Chinese. His sister Alex Osipczak is an Internet personality and runs the YouTube channel
SpenandAlex
alongside her partner and fellow YouTuber, Spencer Owen. In his spare time, he enjoys reading books about Chinese philosophy and martial arts. His favourite books are

Lao Tzu Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state of ...

's ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...

'' and

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of ''The ...

's ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

''. An avid painter, Nick was selected to be the In-House artist for one of London's top Interior Design shops, and was featured in

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); V ...

's documentary "''Hitting the canvas with Nick Osipczak''". Artwork by Nick Osipczak

Mixed martial arts record

, Win , align=center , 6–3 , Kyle Redfearn , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Macto Championships – Osipczak vs. Redfearn , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 2:04 ,

Milton Keynes, England Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

, , - , Loss , align=center , 5–3 ,

, Decision (split) ,

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

Oberhausen, Germany Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

, , - , Loss , align=center , 5–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 , Boston, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 5–1 ,

, Decision (split) ,

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

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, , - , Win , align=center , 5–0 ,

, TKO (punches and elbows) ,

, , align=center , 3 , align=center , 3:53 ,

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, , - , Win , align=center , 4–0 , Frank Lester , Submission (rear naked choke) , TUF 9 Finale , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 3:40 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 3–0 , Geoff Hayes , Submission (rear naked choke) , ZT 12: Fight Night 12 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:32 ,

Brighton, East Sussex Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Ag ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center , 2–0 , Nigel Whitear , Submission (rear naked choke) , FX3: Fight Night 8 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:55 ,

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center , 1–0 , Brendan Flanagan , TKO (punches) , FX3: Fight Night 7 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:16 ,

, England , * ''This record does not include Osipczak's wins at The Ultimate Fighter elimination bout for the show entrance or his preliminary fights for the house entrance. It does not include either his wins at his Semi-Pro and Amateur fights, which would raise Osipczak's full MMA record to a total of 18 fights (13-4-1).''

Titles and accomplishments

* Mixed Martial Arts ** Semi-Finalist in '' The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom'' (Welterweight Division) ** Included in the ''Top 15 TUF Knock-Outs of All Time''. * Kung Fu ** Champion in the ''UK National Open Weight Kung Fu Championship''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Osipczak, Nick 1984 births Alumni of Loughborough University British people of American descent British people of German descent British people of Irish descent British people of Polish descent British tai chi practitioners English male mixed martial artists English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing Tai chi Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people People educated at St Olave's Grammar School Sportspeople from London Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Welterweight mixed martial artists