Damir Hadžović (born August 8, 1986) is a Bosnian-born Danish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Hadžović was born to Bosnian Muslim parents 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. 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 and Nicolas Dalby. Hadžović 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. 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 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 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 on July 22, 2018, at UFC