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

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 competes in the

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

division of the

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 ( ...

(UFC).

Background

Hadžović was born to

Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

parents in the eastern

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

n town of

Goražde Goražde ( sr-cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Drina rive ...

in the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

(present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

). 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 ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

(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 (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 Aarhus, Denmark ...

and Nicolas Dalby. 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) is a Russian-born Austrian mixed martial artist. He fights in the lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, ...

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

UFC 203 ''UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 10, 2016, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Background This was the first UFC event in Cleveland. The ev ...

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

travel visa A visa (; also known as visa stamp) 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 the duration of the foreigner's stay, area ...

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 arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). He is currently ranked #5 in the Konfrontacj ...

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. 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 o ...

on July 22, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 134. He won the fight via split decision. Hadžović faced Polo Reyes 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 competed 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 (born May 21, 1989), known as Renato Moicano, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2010, Moic ...

on March 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 170. 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 ''UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 24'' and ''UFC Vegas 26'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 8, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

. 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 Strikeforc ...

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 Estevan Garcia Jr. (born May 22, 1992), known as Steve Garcia, is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has previously competed in Bellator's bant ...

on April 23, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 205. The fight was scrapped due to Hadžović's visa issues. Hadžović faced

Marc Diakiese Marc Diakiese (born 16 March 1993) is an English professional mixed martial artist who is signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) as a lightweight. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Caged Steel and BAMMA. ...

on July 23, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 208. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Hadžović was scheduled to face Bolaji Oki on February 10, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 236. However, Hadžović withdrew due to visa issues and was replaced by Timothy Cuamba. Hadžović faced

Terrance McKinney Terrance Kitarius McKinney (born September 15, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2017, McKinney also compet ...

on February 1, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 250. He lost the fight by technical knockout via ground-and-pound in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (One time) vs.

**UFC.com Awards ***2017: Ranked #9 Knockout of the Year

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

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–8 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:01 ,

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Saudi Arabia , , - , 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 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, 14–6 ,

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

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 , , - , 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 capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, 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, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Polo Reyes , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:03 ,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

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

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

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, 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 the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

, 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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, 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 ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, 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 o ...

, 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, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, 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 ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

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

Krzysztof Jotko Krzysztof Jotko (born August 19, 1989) is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. He has previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Fighters Leagu ...

, Decision (unanimous) , MMA Attack 2 , , 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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Andreas Ståhl , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Fight Live 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Herning Herning () is a Denmark, Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,782 (1 January 2025)

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Jaroslav Poborský , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Fight Live 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:14 ,

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Michael Hojermark , TKO (doctor stoppage) , The Zone FC 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:11 ,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, 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 (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, 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 21st-century Danish sportsmen 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina sportsmen