Damir Hadžović


Damir Hadžović is a Bosnian-born Danish mixed martial artist and competes in Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Background

Hadžović was born in the eastern Bosnian town of Goražde in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1992, when he was six years old, his mother and him fled to Macedonia for a year during the Bosnian War. They later moved to Denmark, living in a refugee center and later were granted asylum where his dad joined them in 1996.
Not like most of the MMA fighters, Hadžović was a bodybuilder prior to starting MMA. He joined an MMA gym when he was 20 and later got submitted by a guy who was smaller than him who Hadžović could not out muscle, 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 and Nicolas Dalby.
Hadžović made his promotion debut on April 10, 2016 at against Mairbek Taisumov. He lost the fight via knockout in round one.
Hadžović was scheduled to face Yusuke Kasuya on September 10, 2016 at UFC 203. However the fight was postponed after Hadžović could not get the printed travel visa on time to travel to United States. The pairing was rescheduled at. However, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely.
After one year from his first fight in UFC, Hadžović returned to the cage and faced Marcin Held at on May 28, 2017. He dropped Held when Held shoot for a takedown and ran into Hadžović's knee. Hadžović won via KO on round three. The win also earned Hadžović his first Performance of the Night bonus award. In the post-fight interview, Hadžović's view on his MMA career was to leave a legacy, as he said, "I'm here for the honor and glory, not for the belt".
Hadžović faced Alan Patrick on February 3, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 125. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Hadžović faced Nick Hein on July 22, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 134. He won the fight via split decision.
Hadžović faced Marco 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 on June 1, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 153. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Hadžović faced Renato Moicano on March 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 170. He lost the fight via a submission in round one.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

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."

Mixed martial arts record