Damir Hadzovic
Quick Facts
Biography
Damir Hadzovic (born August 8, 1986) is an Bosnian mixed martial artist and currently competes in Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Hadzovic was born in the eastern Bosnian town of Goražde in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina). In 1992, when he was six years old, his mother and him fled to Macedonia for a year during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). 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, Hadzovic was a bodybuilder prior started training MMA. He join a MMA gym when he was 20 and after got submitted by a guy who was smaller than him who Hadzovic could not out muscled, he was hooked to learn more about MMA as to find out the techniques of the sport which led him to his MMA career later in years. Hadzovic worked as a bouncer at an Irish pub in Copenhagen and as a part time MMA referee.
Mixed martial arts career
Prior to Ultimate Fighting Championship
Hadzovic 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
Hadzovic 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.
Hadzovic made his promotion debut on April 10, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos against Mairbek Taisumov. He lost the fight via knockout in round one.
Hadzovic was scheduled to face Yusuke Kasuya on September 10, 2016 at UFC 203. However the fight was postponed after Hadzovic could not get the printed travel visa 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.
After one year from his first fight in UFC, Hadzovic returned to the cage and faced Marcin Held at UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos on May 28, 2017. He dropped Held when Held shoot for a takedown and ran into Hadzovic's knee. Hadzovic won via KO on round three. The win also earned Hadzovic his first Performance of the Night bonus award. In the post-fight interview, Hadzovic'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".
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Marcin Held
Personal life
His moniker "The Bosnian Bomber" was given to him by his MMA gym mate as he did not have the proper striking technique but "throwing bombs" when he started training MMA.
As Hadzovic was born in Bosnia and raised up in Denmark, he identified himself as a Bosnian and a Dane, as he put it, "I represent both counties, I love both countries, you know, Denmark is my home." "It's Bosnian hardware, Danish software you know."
He is Sunni Muslim.
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown | ||
14 matches | 11 wins | 3 losses |
By knockout | 6 | 1 |
By submission | 3 | 0 |
By decision | 2 | 2 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 11-3 | Marcin Held | KO (knee) | UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira | 000000002017-05-28-0000May 28, 2017 | 3 | 0:07 | Stockholm, Sweden | Performance of the Night |
Loss | 10-3 | Mairbek Taisumov | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos | 000000002016-04-10-0000April 10, 2016 | 1 | 3:44 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
Win | 10-2 | Ivan Musardo | TKO (corner stoppage) | Venator FC: Guerrieri Italiani Finals | 000000002015-05-30-0000May 30, 2015 | 2 | 5:00 | Bologna, Italy | |
Win | 9-2 | Martin Delaney | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 69 | 000000002014-06-07-0000June 7, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | |
Win | 8-2 | John Maguire | KO (knees and punches) | Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 66 | 000000002014-03-22-0000March 22, 2014 | 1 | 3:58 | Ballerup, Denmark | |
Win | 7-2 | Thibault Colleuil | Submission (armbar) | European MMA 7 | 000000002013-11-07-0000November 7, 2013 | 1 | N/A | Aarhus, Denmark | |
Win | 6-2 | Nic Osei | TKO (punches) | WKN - Valhalla: Battle of the Vikings | 000000002013-03-09-0000March 9, 2013 | 2 | 0:00 | Aarhus, Denmark | |
Win | 5-2 | Matej Truhan | Decision (majority) | Royal Arena 2 | 000000002012-08-31-0000August 31, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Copenhagen, Denmark | |
Loss | 4-2 | Krzysztof Jotko | Decision (unanimous) | MMA Attack 2 | 000000002012-04-27-0000April 27, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Katowice, Poland | |
Loss | 4-1 | Andreas Stahl | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Fight Live 2 | 000000002011-11-19-0000November 19, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Herning, Denmark | |
Win | 4-0 | Jaroslav Poborsky | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Cage Fight Live 1 | 000000002011-04-09-0000April 9, 2011 | 2 | 3:14 | Herning, Denmark | |
Win | 3-0 | Michael Hojermark | TKO (doctor stoppage) | The Zone FC 7 | 000000002010-11-27-0000November 27, 2010 | 3 | 3:11 | Gothenburg, Sweden | |
Win | 2-0 | Tim Waage | Submission (brabo choke) | Fighter Gala 15 | 000000002010-09-11-0000September 11, 2010 | 1 | 4:18 | Odense, Denmark | |
Win | 1-0 | Alaan Briefkani | TKO | Fighter Gala 11 | 000000002009-11-14-0000November 14, 2009 | 1 | 3:29 | Odense, Denmark |