'We thought the world was going to end' - UFC lightweight Damir Hadzovic reflects on fighting when the pandemic erupted

As Damir Hadzovic prepares for his bout against Yancy Medeiros at UFC Vegas 27, he would rather forget his last outing. It's a shame then that it took place on such a historic occasion. UFC Fight Night 170, headlined by a lightweight bout between Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira, taking place on March 14th, 2020, was the first without fans in attendance. And that's an essential context for the loss.

Reminders aren't required. If you lived through it, you'd remember. The pandemic was kicking off, and it felt as though the world was ending.

Hadzovic had a good camp before his bout with Renato Moicano. However, while he doesn't want to use it as an excuse for the first-round defeat, the surrounding chaos was distracting. "It was the first event with the corona, you know," Hadzovic said in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda. "All week, they were talking about it. Everything is cancelled, no media day, there's not going to be an audience."

With the virus spreading rapidly and the scale of the disaster still unclear, it seemed as though fundamental pieces of news were breaking every few minutes. "It was hard to focus with this all the time. All the CNN press conferences. You saw Trump every day, every three hours, they had a press conference. It was like, 'what the hell is going on in the world?' I had a little girl at home; she wasn't even a year old. I was just thinking, 'I hope I don't get stuck in Brazil.' I want to be able to go home. No excuses, but I couldn't focus like I usually do. It was like a disease on steroids. It's not like we thought it was going to be. We thought the world was going to end or something."

While Covid-19 has not been conquered, the United States believes that the worst is behind them. Denmark, where Hadzovic has lived for much of his life since fleeing Bosnia in the 90s, has also turned a corner. Services are beginning to open up there again, with most of the older and vulnerable population vaccinated.

When Hadzovic was in Brazil, he was told that Denmark was urging all citizens to return home. They were closing down the country, and there was a chance that he wouldn't be allowed back in. If this was the case, then he was thinking 'f*** fighting.' His body was present in the octagon, but his mind was elsewhere.

Damir Hadzovic prepares for war with Yancy Medeiros

Now the apocalyptic threat on his radar is Medeiros. Both men arrive on losing skids, Hadzovic with two and Medeiros with three. Defeat for either one could have disastrous consequences. Expect a hard-fought brawl. Hadzovic certainly is.

"Always this guy is dangerous. He always goes into war when he gets hit. Every when you think, 'oh, he's about to get finished', then he survives and comes back. He's always in good shape; he fights until the end. You know, these Hawaiians are good fighters, they're warriors, so I expect a war. It will be a tough fight. My next fight is always my toughest fight."

A six-to-eight week fight camp saw Hadzovic train for six days of the week, leaving one day to recover. After wrapping up the intense phase of the camp, his focus was to get his mental preparation in order along with his weight cut. The body is tired after the exertion of an entire fight camp, so rest is vital.

The lightweight is an engaging interviewee who's happy to talk about a wide range of subjects. It makes sense that he's one of Danish television's top UFC analysts. Hadzovic isn't contemplating hanging up his gloves anytime soon, but he's setting up a cushy post-fight career when he's not trading blows with MMA foes.

It is a gig that comes easy to him. If he wasn't on television, he would be doing the exact same thing with pals at home.

"That's what I usually do when I meet with some friends. We talk about these fights - but now I get to do it for money. Now on TV. That's crazy, you know what I mean. It's not a job; it's a passion."

This weekend, Hadzovic will let his meat-and-bone microphones do the talking for him. The next time he chats sport with his pals, it could be about getting his hand raised at UFC Vegas 27.