Damir Hadzovic hasn’t had much luck getting back in the octagon.
The UFC announced Wednesday that Hadzovic has been removed from his lightweight bout with Bolaji Oki, which is scheduled for Saturday at UFC Vegas 86 event. Taking Hadzovic’s place is recent Contender Series competitor Timothy Cuamba.
A reason for the change was not mentioned by officials, but Hadzovic posted to his social media that the withdrawal is visa-related.
“Unfortunately my fight is cancelled due to slow work-visa processing,” Hadzovic wrote. “Can’t even tell you how disappointed I am feeling, just bad luck, man. Hoping to get a new fight soon.”
This was to be Hadzovic’s first fight since July 2022 and just his third since March 2020. Visa issues also forced Hadzovic out of a fight against Steve Garcia at UFC Vegas 52.
The updated matchup sees two UFC newcomers facing off. Oki recently signed to the promotion from Contender Series, and Cuamba fought just this past weekend at a Tuff-N-Uff event in Las Vegas.
Oki (8-1) defeated Dylan Salvador via first-round TKO in August to earn a UFC contract. Since losing his pro debut in 2018, “The Zulu Warrior” has rattled off eight straight victories, with only two of those wins going to the scorecards.
Cuamba (8-1) competed on the same Contender Series card as Oki, and though he won his fight over Mateo Vogel by unanimous decision, he did not receive a contract. Instead, he debuts as a short-notice replacement just eight days after scoring a second-round knockout of Michael Stack.
See the updated UFC Vegas 86 lineup below.
Dan Ige vs. Andre Fili
Brad Tavares vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Michael Johnson vs. Darrius Flowers
Robert Bryczek vs. Ihor Potieria
Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan
Trevin Giles vs. Carlos Prates
Loma Lookboonmee vs. Bruna Brasil
Devin Clark vs. Marcin Prachnio
Max Griffin vs. Jeremiah Wells
Bolaji Oki vs. Timothy Cuamba
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