Damir Hadzovic
Damir Hadzovic celebrates after his win over Marcin Held Getty

Damir Hadzovic staked his claim for "knockout of the year" after a nasty knee finish of Marcin Held at UFC Fight Night 109 in Stockholm, Sweden on Sunday (28 May).

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Hadzovic was actually losing his fight but was able to finish his opponent off early on in the third and final round with a knee to the face as Held attempted an imanari roll (leglock).

The victory means "The Bosnian Bomber" now has an MMA record of 11-3 as well as his first victory in the UFC, having lost in his debut to Mairbek Taisumov in April 2016.

"I knew this guy [Held] would come and try to take me down," the 30-year-old said following the fight. "I know he is strong in the first rounds and he puts a lot of pressure on so I had to weather his explosiveness and his strength."

"I felt like, as we went on, he was fading and I knew he was getting tired. Going into the third I saw that he was breathing heavily and so I thought, now is the time to fake my jab and pull up my high knee."

"I was expecting exactly this finish. I said in several interviews this week that I would finish him in the third round so it's crazy, it worked, I cannot believe it."

Hadzovic's knockout earned him $50,000 (£38,980) as he was awarded a performance of the night bonus

The Bosnian, who now lives in Denmark, also revealed post-fight that he was an MMA referee and that he will be officiating an event there next week to help the sport grow.

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