Richie Vaculik

Richie Vaculik (/ˈvæsəlɪk/ VAS-ə-lik;[2] born Richard Vaculik) is a mixed martial artist and big wave surfer from Maroubra, Australia.[3] Richie competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight division.

Richard Vaculik
Born (1983-06-19) 19 June 1983
Other namesRichie Vas
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st)
DivisionFlyweight (MMA)
Reach69 in (175 cm)
StyleGreco-Roman Wrestling
Fighting out ofMaroubra, New South Wales
TeamTP Fight Team
RankPurple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[1]
Years active2006–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total15
Wins10
By knockout3
By submission6
By decision1
Losses5
By knockout2
By submission1
By decision2
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Early life

Richie's sporting accomplishments started as a surfer at Maroubra Beach, Sydney (Australia). Bra Boys including the Abberton brothers (Sunny Abberton, Koby Abberton, Jai Abberton and Dakota Abberton), Mark Mathews and Richie grew up surfing the iconic Maroubra Beach breaks and other waves including 'Ours'.

In an interview with Surfing Magazine Richie stated that as teenagers he and some Bra Boys would fight each other for fun or to resolve disputes.[4] Richie was introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu by blackbelt Bruno Panno at the age of 18.[5]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In November 2006 Richie made a successful MMA debut at Warriors Realm 7 against Michael Mortimer, winning via first-round knockout.[6]

Cage Fighting Championship

Richie remained undefeated before challenging Gustavo Falciroli for the Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) inaugural bantamweight title at CFC 12, in March 2010, at The Hordern Pavilion. Falciroli defeated Richie via unanimous 5-round decision.[7]

Proud Warriors Productions, Australian Fighting Championship and Combat8

Since 2011 Richie has exclusively fought international competition. At Proud Warriors Productions (PWP) 3, September 2011, Richie defeated Hawaiian Justin Wong via first round submission.[8] In February 2012, Richie defeated American Nick Honstein for the inaugural featherweight belt at PWP 4: Vaculik vs Honstein, via first round submission.[9]

At Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) 3, April 2012, Richie defeated American MMA veteran Matt Jaggers via first-round knockout.[10]

Richie also defeated American Charlie Alaniz, via split decision (5 rounds), to capture the Combat8 bantamweight title in mid 2013 in a modified MMA rules event broadcast live via epicentre.tv and delayed broadcast on Fox Sports.[11][12]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In June 2012, Richie was cast on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes (TUF Smashes).[13] Richie fought twice at lightweight, he was outsized and defeated by Norman Parke via unanimous decision (2 rounds)[14] and Colin Fletcher via second round submission.[15]

In December 2013, Richie made his UFC and flyweight debut on the undercard at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot against Justin Scoggins[16] and was defeated via first-round TKO. In an interview with MMA Kanvas Richie stated he was surprised by Scoggin's wrestling based game plan.[17]

Vaculik was set to face Jon delos Reyes on the undercard at UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt on 8 June 2014. Reyes was replaced by Philippines' Roldan Sangcha'an.[18] Vaculik he defeated Sangcha-an via unanimous decision.[19]

Vaculik was expected to face Ray Borg on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night 55.[20][21][22] However, Borg was unavailable and Neil Seery was officially announced as Richie's opponent.[23] Subsequently, Seery pulled out of that bout as well and was replaced by Louis Smolka.[24] Despite winning the first and second rounds, Vaculik lost the fight via TKO in the third round.[25]

Vaculik faced Danny Martinez on 15 November 2015 at UFC 193.[26] He lost the fight via unanimous decision[27] and was subsequently cut from the UFC[28] in 2016.

Film and television

Richie features in Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water. Macario De Souza directed friends Mark Matthews and Richie in the follow up documentary Fighting Fear.[29] On The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, Richie represented Australia for the first time inside the UFC octagon.[30] The Crew is a successful television series that follows on from Fighting Fear documenting Richie's career in MMA and surfing on Fuel TV.[31][32]

The three friends Richie, De Souza and Mathews were the subject of an Australian Story episode Scared Straight (2011) where Sue Masters looks into their maturation as professionals in their respective careers and some of the trails and tribulations of getting there.[33][34]

According to The Daily Telegraph Vas is set to co-anchor a UFC Tonight style show for Fox Sports on Australian pay television network Foxtel alongside Tara Rushton[35] called UFC Fight Week that premiered on Thursday, 16 April 2015[36][37]

Big wave surfing

Richie has surfed some of the world's most dangerous breaks including The Right and Shipsterns Bluff (Australia), Hawaii and Teahupo'o (Tahiti). Surfing since the age of 10, he credits the older surfers who pushed him to ride waves out of his comfort zone from an early age.[38] Bra Boys pioneered standup surfing at a local Sydney break called Cape Fear, on the southern side of the Botany Bay at Cape Solander. Known locally as 'Ours', it became the site of a Red Bull big wave surfing competition in August 2014 called Red Bull Cape Fear.[39] Richie competed against fellow local Evan Faulks.[40]

Championships and accomplishments
  • Cage Fighting Championship
    • CFC Bantamweight title
  • Combat8
    • Combat8 Bantamweight title
  • Proud Warriors Productions
    • PWP Featherweight title

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
15 matches 10 wins 5 losses
By knockout 3 2
By submission 6 1
By decision 1 2

-

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 10–5 Nobuki Fujii Submission (rear-naked choke) Pancrase 289 20 August 2017 1 3:42 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 10–4 Danny Martinez Decision (unanimous) UFC 193 15 November 2015 3 5:00 Melbourne, Australia
Loss 10–3 Louis Smolka KO (side kick and punches) UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping 8 November 2014 3 0:18 Sydney
Win 10–2 Roldan Sangcha-an Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Te-Huna vs. Marquardt 28 June 2014 3 5:00 Auckland, New Zealand
Loss 9–2 Justin Scoggins TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot 7 December 2013 1 4:43 Brisbane, Australia Flyweight debut.
Win 9–1 Matt Jaggers TKO (punches) AFC 3 – Australian Fighting Championship 3 15 December 2012 1 0:41 Melbourne, Australia
Win 8–1 Nick Honstein Submission (triangle armbar) PWP 4 – Vaculik vs. Honstein 2 July 2012 1 0:59 Sydney Won the PWP Featherweight Championship.
Win 7–1 Justin Wong Submission (rear-naked choke) PWP 3 – Proud Warrior Productions 3 27 February 2011 1 5:00 Sydney
Win 6–1 Glenn Taylor-Smith Submission (rear-naked choke) Impact FC 2 – The Uprising: Sydney 20 November 2010 2 2:43 Sydney
Win 5–1 Evan Byrne Submission (rear-naked choke) CFC – Cage Fighting Championships 14 3 July 2010 1 5:00 Sydney
Loss 4–1 Gustavo Falciroli Decision (unanimous) CFC 12 – Lombard vs. Santore 21 February 2010 5 5:00 Sydney For the CFC Bantamweight Championship.
Win 4–0 Michael Mortimer Submission (rear-naked choke) CFC 9 – Fighters Paradise 21 November 2009 1 4:35 Gold Coast, Australia
Win 3–0 Ross MacLeod KO (punch) CFC 7 – Battle at the Big Top 8 August 2009 1 1:59 Sydney
Win 2–0 Alexandre Shevtsov Submission (rear-naked choke) Warriors Realm 8 2 April 2007 2 2:24 Sydney
Win 1–0 Michael Mortimer KO (punch) Warriors Realm 7 8 December 2006 1 1:36 Sydney

See also

References
  1. "Richie Vaculik – Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  2. "Fighting Fear - Richie 'Vas' Vaculik Intro". Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  3. "Richie Vaculik | MMA Kanvas | MMA Kanvas". mmakanvas.ninemsn.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  4. "Richie Vas, Surfing Warrior – SURFING Magazine". surfingmagazine.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  5. "Surf and Steel – Fight! Australia magazine". insidemma.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  6. "Warriors Realm Reality Fighting 7 Results (Official)". mixedmartialarts.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  7. "CFC 12 Roundup | News | Cornerman – fight videos, photos and events". cornerman.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  8. "PWP 3 – Aussie Fight Night – Australian MMA, Muay Thai and BJJ news, gyms, events and more". aussiefightnight.com.au. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  9. "Richie 'Vas' Vaculik vs 'Quick' Nick Honstein | Videos | Cornerman – fight videos, photos and events". cornerman.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  10. "MMA Results: UFC on Fuel TV 2, Bellator 65, AFC 3, CWFC, XFC 17, LOF 52, CFA 6". allthebestfights.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  11. "Quick News: Combat8:03 Pre-Fight show on Fox Sports 3". fightnewsaustralia.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  12. "Live results and blog: Sydney's Combat 8 via epicentre.tv | MMA Kanvas". mmakanvas.ninemsn.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  13. "The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 'Smashes' full cast announced for Sept. 19 debut on Foxtel - MMAmania.com". mmamania.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  14. "Richie 'Vas' Vaculik shows the meaning of TUF". news.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  15. "TUF 'The Smashes' Episode 12 Recap: Final Fight Confirmed for TUF Finale | MMAWeekly.com". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  16. "'Bra Boy' Richie 'Vas' swaps big waves for small gloves | MMA Kanvas". mmakanvas.ninemsn.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  17. "Richie 'Vas' wants to 'make amends' for his first UFC loss | MMA Kanvas". mmakanvas.ninemsn.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  18. "Jon delos Reyes out, Richie Vaculik faces Team Lakay prodigy Roldan Sangcha’an at UFC Fight Night 43 | FSA – FightSport Asia". fightsportasia.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  19. "UFC Fight Night 43 results: Richie Vaculik rides takedowns to win over Roldan Sangcha-an | MMAjunkie". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  20. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/competitions/mma-fighter-richie-vas-vaciluk-out-with-elbow-injury-after-gruelling-ufc-victory-in-nz/story-fngy6zae-1227001873665
  21. "UFC Sydney: Riche 'Vas' awaits mystery opponent for hometown fight | MMA Kanvas". mmakanvas.ninemsn.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  22. "UFC Fight Night Rockhold vs Bisping fight card updates | FSA – FightSport Asia". fightsportasia.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  23. "UFN 55: Richie Vas opponent change for UFC Fight Night Sydney | FSA – FightSport Asia". fightsportasia.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  24. James Carroll (28 October 2014). "Neil Seery out of UFC Fight Night 55 against Richie Vaculik, Louis Smolka steps in". mmamad.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  25. Matt Erickson (7 November 2014). "UFC Fight Night 55 results: Louis Smolka stuns Richie Vaculik with third-round head kick". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  26. Staff (3 September 2015). "UFC 193 adds Richie Vaculik vs. Danny Martinez". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  27. Bren Brookhouse (14 November 2015). "UFC 193 results: Danny Martinez outworks Richie Vaculik to take unanimous decision". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  28. "Richie Vaculik confirms release from the UFC". Fight News Australia. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  29. "Nude and boozy bad boys in Bra Boys sequel". yourmovies.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  30. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/bra-boy-richie-vaculik-hits-up-the-ultimate-fighter-australia-vs-uk-the-smashes/story-fndo28a5-1226480021376
  31. "The Crew Starts Monday 6.30 pm – GO! Home". go.ninemsn.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  32. "Returning: The Crew | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  33. "Australian Story – Scared Straight – Transcript". abc.net.au. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  34. "Australian Story :: Scared Straight". abc.net.au. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  35. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/boxing-mma/ultimate-fighting-column-ufc-fighters-set-to-get-nrl-treatment-in-2015-with-new-tv-show/story-fni2fnkz-1227289649084
  36. https://www.foxtel.com.au/got/whats-on/foxtel-insider/fox-sports/ufc-fight-week.html
  37. http://www.fightnewsaustralia.com/fox-sports-australia-launches-dedicated-weekly-ufc-show/
  38. "Five Questions for Richie Vaculik | FIGHTLAND". fightland.vice.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  39. "Red Bull Cape Fear start list confirmed – Red Bull Cape Fear". redbullcapefear.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  40. "Gallery: Red Bull Cape Fear 2014 | Stab Magazine". stabmag.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
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