Nick Osipczak
My Virgin Media Blog part 1
 
We're less than a month away from my UFC debut at UFC 105 on November 14 and I'm currently in the process of kicking my training into the next gear. I'll be facing American prospect Matt Riddle on November 14 and I'm undoubtedly in the best shape of my life right now.

In terms of my training schedule, I do my pad work, strength and conditioning in London. Then, during the week, I go to Nottingham and do my MMA sparring, my wrestling and my jiu-jitsu at Leicester Shootfighters. On Thursdays I'll go down with the squad at the Rough House gym in Nottingham to spar. It's a busy schedule and I try and keep it as fresh and varied as I possibly can.

With that said, my training is definitely intense right now. I'm actually now going to increase the intensity for one more week and then try and keep it there for a further week. I'll then start the process of tapering down a week ahead of the fight. I'm still pushing myself right now, though, and I've still got my toughest sessions ahead of me. I feel as though I'm getting fitter all the time.

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This has been a great training camp, purely because of the amount of time I've been able to spend at the Rough House, amongst other guys that are gearing up for fights. Aside from me, Dan Hardy, Andre Winner and Ross Pearson at UFC 105, we've also had Dean Amasinghe getting ready for a fight on October 24 and then Jim Wallhead preparing for one the week after. That's a lot of fighters getting ready for fights and we've all been in a similar condition and mindset for the past number of weeks. 

I've also concentrated more on my strength for this fight on November 14. I don't plan on doing any takedowns in this fight, so I've been able to spend more time on my takedown defence as opposed to anything else. Riddle is a very good wrestler and I've been preparing myself for his onslaught of takedown attempts in the past few weeks.

I couldn't have been sparring and training with better partners than the guys at the Rough House. You'd have to say the Rough House is the best MMA gym in Britain right now. I'd also go as far as to say it's the best gym for welterweights in the world. You can't get better welterweight training partners than Hardy, Daley, Wallhead and Amasinghe.

November 14 is going to be a massive opportunity for me and all the other British guys appearing at UFC 105. The crowd at the MEN Arena will undoubtedly be the biggest crowd I've ever performed in front of and I can't wait for it.

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It's an honour to be on the same card as not only British greats like Mike Bisping and Dan Hardy, but also a genuine UFC legend like Randy Couture. That's a memory I'll be able to hold on to for the rest of my career. Anyone who's a fan of MMA knows who Randy Couture is and respects him to the maximum. He's achieved so many amazing things in his career and is an inspiration to every athlete out there.

Randy is nearing the end of his incredible UFC journey, while I'm stood right at the beginning of mine. November 14 is shaping up to be a can't-miss night…

Last tickets for UFC 105 are available now from ticketmaster.co.uk

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