Nick Denis (born October 11, 1983) is a retired

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 ...

. A

World Victory Road World Victory Road (WVR) was a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in conjunct ...

Aggression Fighting Championship World Series of Fighting (Canada) formerly Aggression Fighting Championship, Aggression MMA and Armageddon Fighting Championship is a Canadian Mixed Martial Arts promotion based out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The promotions made their debuts i ...

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

and

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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

veteran, Denis is best known for being a former KOTC Canada Bantamweight Champion, semi-finalist in the Sengoku Featherweight Tournament and his Knockout of the Night victory in his debut fight in the UFC.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Denis made his MMA debut in his native Canada in October 2006. He debuted for the King of the Cage Canada promotion and quickly became their Bantamweight champion. In 2009, Denis made his international MMA debut for the

promotion. He fought in the Sengoku Featherweight Grandprix, making it to the semifinal round. More recently, he fought against

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

veteran

Nick Mamalis Nick Mamalis (born 1986) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for Bellator MMA, Bellator and Ab ...

who he defeated via KO (suplex and chokeslam) in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In early December 2011, it was announced that Denis had signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC. In his UFC debut, Denis faced Joseph Sandoval on January 20, 2012 at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. He was successful, defeating Sandoval with a series of standing elbows. Nick was expected to face

Johnny Bedford Johnny Bedford (born January 6, 1983) is an American retired mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. A professional from 2003 to 2017, he fought in the UFC, Bellator, the Legacy Fighting Alliance, and was a competitor on Spike TV's The Ult ...

UFC on Fox 3 ''UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 3'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 5, 2012 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Background Dennis Hallman was expected ...

on May 5, 2012. However, Bedford was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by

Roland Delorme Roland Camille Roger Delorme (born December 18, 1983) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was a competitor on Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bispi ...

. He lost to Delorme by rear-naked choke at 4:59 of an action-packed first round where both fighters were rocked until Delorme rallied and submitted Denis. In November 2012, Nick announced his retirement from the sport of MMA in a post on his blog, citing research of

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...

. Denis is frequently quoted and his research is the subject of many discussions on media outlets including MMA Live,

The New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in tabloid format, and rea ...

and

The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...

Personal life

Denis studied at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

. Nick also invested part of his "Knockout of the Night" win bonus in purchasing land, owning a large part of land in North Stormont, Ontario, Canada. A fan of board games, Denis has recently designed an algorithm for efficiently playing '' SeaFall''.

Championships and accomplishments

** KOTC Canada Bantamweight Championship (One time) **One successful title defense *

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

** Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Joseph Sandoval

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:59 ,

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Joseph Sandoval , KO (elbows) , UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:22 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,

, KO (suplex and chokeslam) , Wreck MMA: Unfinished Business , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:03 ,

Gatineau, Quebec Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also par ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 , Yuji Hoshino , Submission (guillotine choke) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 12 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:47 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Sean Quinn , KO (punches) , Wreck MMA: Fights for the Troops , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:42 , Gatineau, Quebec, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Jason Townes , TKO (knee and kick to the body) , AMMA 1: First Blood , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:26 ,

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

Marlon Sandro Marlon Sandro (born 8 March 1977) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. He has competed for Bellator, Pancrase, Shooto, and World Victory Road. He is the former King of Pancrase Featherweight Champion and former Sengoku Featherweight Ch ...

, KO (punches) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:19 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Seiya Kawahara , TKO (punches) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:36 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Josh Kyrejto , KO (punch) , KOTC: Excalibur , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:59 , Edmonton, Alberta Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Josh Gallant , KO (punches) , KOTC: Brawl at the Mall 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:14 , Edmonton, Alberta, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Dave Scholten , TKO (punch to the body) , KOTC: Brawl at the Mall 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:23 , Edmonton, Alberta, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Chris Myra , TKO (punches) , KOTC: Capital Chaos , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 , Montreal, Quebec, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jean-Robert Monier , Submission (armbar) , KOTC: Freedom Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:33 , Montreal, Quebec, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Justin Darbyson , KO (punches) , APEX: A Night Of Champions , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:24 , Montreal, Quebec, Canada ,

References

External links

* *
Sengoku profile for Nick Denis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denis, Nick Living people Canadian male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Kyokushin kaikan Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1983 births Sportspeople from North Bay, Ontario Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Canadian male karateka University of Ottawa alumni Canadian biochemists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century Canadian sportsmen