Damian Grabowski (born May 12, 1980) is a Polish professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who last competed in 2019. A professional since 2007, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), Fight Exclusive Night and M-1 Global.

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 a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

veteran

Valentijn Overeem Valentijn Overeem (; born 17 August 1976) is a Dutch retired professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor since 1996, he has previously fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, RINGS, KSW, the World Fighti ...

at a Beast of the East event in November in

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

, Poland and also Thorsten Kronz (known from Team Germany on M-1) on December 5 in Darmstadt, Germany 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. 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 in 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 in the semi-finals, but instead faced Cole Konrad. 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 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. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Grabowski was expected to face Viktor Pešta on January 15, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 103. However, Grabowski was removed from the bout on December 21 for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Alexey Oleynik. Grabowski was expected to face Christian Colombo on May 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 109. 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. Subsequently, Colombo was removed from the fight on June 22 for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Chase Sherman. 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 Global **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 Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

/ Sopot,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

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

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Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in central Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, within the New York metropolitan area. The population was 32,473 at the time of the 2020 United States census ...

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Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 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, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, 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, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–2 , Marcin Tybura , Technical Submission (north-south choke) , M-1 Challenge 50: Battle on Neva , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:28 , St. Petersburg, 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 is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 17–1 , Stav Economou , Decision (split) , MMA Attack 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 16–1 , Dave Huckaba , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 67 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Rama, Ontario, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 , Eddie Sanchez , Submission (kimura) , MMA Attack 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 ,

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

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–1 , Cole Konrad , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 29 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–0 , Scott Barrett , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 25 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 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, 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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 Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

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

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

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

, 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 ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

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Doetinchem Doetinchem (; Dutch Low Saxon, Low Saxon: ) is a city and Municipalities in the Netherlands, municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the IJssel, Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the Provinces of the Netherland ...

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

Mielno Mielno ( ; 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 Koszalin and north-east ...

, 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: ; ) 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 borders Katowice to the north, Mikołów to the west, Bie ...

, 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 Martial artists from Opole Voivodeship Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century Polish sportsmen