Damir Hadžović (born August 8, 1986) is a Bosnian-born Danish

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, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division of the

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 ...

(UFC).

Background

Hadžović was born to

Bosnian Muslim The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...

parents in the eastern

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

n town of Goražde in the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

(present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

). In 1992, when he was six years old, his mother and him fled to Macedonia for a year during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

(1992-1995). They later moved to Denmark, living in a refugee center and later were granted asylum where his dad joined them in 1996. Unlike most MMA fighters, Hadžović was a bodybuilder prior to starting MMA. He was hooked to learn more about MMA as to find out the techniques of the sport which led him to his MMA career. Hadžović worked as a bouncer at an Irish pub in Copenhagen and as a part-time MMA referee.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Hadžović fought in the European circuit for six years in some of the organisations such as Cage Warriors and Venator Fighting Championships, and amassed a record 10–2, with six-fight winning streak, prior joining UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Hadžović was signed by UFC in early 2016 and he was the third Danish MMA fighter to be part of the UFC roaster after

Martin Kampmann Martin Kampmann Frederiksen (born April 17, 1982) is a retired Danish professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former Cage Warriors World Middleweight Champion. Background Originally from Aar ...

and

Nicolas Dalby Nicolas Dalby (born November 16, 1984) is a Danish mixed martial artist who is currently fighting in the Welterweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2008, he is both a former Welterweight and interim welterweight ...

. Hadžović made his promotion debut on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos against

Mairbek Taisumov Mairbek Vakhaevich Taisumov (Russian: Майрбек Вахаевич Тайсумов; born August 8, 1988 in Chechnya) is a Russian-born Austrian mixed martial artist. He fights in the lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artis ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. Hadžović was scheduled to face Yusuke Kasuya on September 10, 2016, at

UFC 203 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 ...

. However the fight was postponed after Hadžović could not get the printed

travel visa A visa (from the Latin ''charta visa'', meaning "paper that has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on t ...

on time to travel to United States. The pairing was rescheduled at UFC Fight Night: Lamas vs. Penn. However, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely. One year after his first fight in the UFC, Hadžović returned to the cage and faced

Marcin Held Marcin Held (born January 18, 1992) is a Polish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut, Professional Fighters League, a ...

at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira on May 28, 2017. Hadžović won via KO in round three when Held shot for a takedown and ran into Hadžović's knee. The win also earned Hadžović his first Performance of the Night bonus award. Hadžović faced Alan Patrick on February 3, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 125 ''UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Anders'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 125'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on February 3, 2018, at Arena Guilherme Paraense in Belém, Brazil. Background Wh ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Hadžović faced

Nick Hein Nick Hein (born April 24, 1984) is a German retired mixed martial artist and actor, who is best known for appearing in the German television show Diese Kaminskis. Before Hein became an actor, he was also a national judo champion and police offic ...

on July 22, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 134 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 134'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2018, at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Background The event was ...

. He won the fight via split decision. Hadžović faced

Polo Reyes Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

on February 23, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 145. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Hadžović faced

Christos Giagos Christos Giagos (born January 23, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Giagos was born and raised in Southern California. Giagos co ...

on June 1, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 153. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Hadžović faced

Renato Moicano Renato Alves Carneiro better known as Renato Moicano (born May 21, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Moicano made a ...

on March 14, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 170 ''UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 170'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 28'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 14, 2020 at Ginásio Nilson Nelson in ...

. He lost the fight via a submission in round one. Hadžović was scheduled to face Nikolas Motta on May 8, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 24. However, Motta was pulled from the event, citing foot injury. In turn, Hadžović was rescheduled and was expected to face

Yancy Medeiros Yancy Medeiros Jr. (born September 7, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2007, he has competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikefor ...

two weeks later at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt. However, the bout was pulled from the card just hours before taking place due to health issues with Hadžović. The pairing was rescheduled on June 26, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 190 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 190'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 48'' and ''UFC Vegas 30'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 26, 2021 at the UFC Apex ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Hadžović was scheduled to face Steve Garcia on April 23, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 205 ''UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 205'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 63'' or ''UFC Vegas 52'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 23, 2022, at the UF ...

. The fight was scrapped due to Hadžović's visa issues. Hadžović faced

Marc Diakiese Marc Diakiese (born 16 March 1993) is a Congolese-born English professional mixed martial artist who competes as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has also competed for Caged Steel and BAMMA. Background Aged 17, Diakies ...

on July 23, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 208 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 208'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 66'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 23, 2022, at The O2 Arena in Lon ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(One time) vs.

Personal life

His moniker "The Bosnian Bomber" was given to him by his MMA teammate as he did not have the proper striking technique but was "throwing bombs" when he started training MMA. As Hadžović was born in Bosnia and raised in Denmark. He identifies himself as a Bosnian and a Dane, as he puts it: "I represent both countries, I love both countries, you know, Denmark is my home." "It's Bosnian hardware, Danish software." He is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–7 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 14–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–6 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:03 ,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–4 , Alan Patrick , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Anders , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 ,

, KO (knee) , UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:07 ,

, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, KO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:44 ,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, Croatia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Ivan Musardo , TKO (corner stoppage) , Venator FC: Guerrieri Italiani Finals , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, Italy , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Martin Delaney , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Warriors 69 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , John Maguire , KO (knees and punches) , Cage Warriors 66 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:58 ,

Ballerup Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality. Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of ...

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Thibault Colleuil , Submission (armbar) , European MMA 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Nic Osei , TKO (punches) , WKN Valhalla: Battle of the Vikings , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 ,

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Matej Truhan , Decision (majority) , Royal Arena 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 ,

Krzysztof Jotko Krzysztof Jotko (born August 19, 1989) is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. He has previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Orneta, Poland, Jotko was ori ...

, Decision (unanimous) , MMA Attack 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Andreas Ståhl , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Fight Live 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Herning, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Jaroslav Poborský , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Fight Live 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:14 , Herning, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Michael Hojermark , TKO (doctor stoppage) , The Zone FC 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:11 ,

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Tim Waage , Submission (D'Arce choke) , Fighter Gala 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:18 ,

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Alaan Briefkani , TKO (leg kicks and elbows) , Fighter Gala 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 ,

, Denmark , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hadzovic, Damir Living people 1986 births Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Denmark Danish male mixed martial artists Bosnia and Herzegovina male mixed martial artists Danish people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Danish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Bosnia and Herzegovina practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Yugoslav Wars refugees Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters People from Goražde