Terrance McKinney’s TKO of Damir Hadžović Ended in Round One
Terrance McKinney stopped Damir Hadžović in the first round of their lightweight bout in Riyadh on February 1, 2025. The result corrected here is consistent with the official fighter profiles as well as the event results. The matchup took place at the fight night headlined by Israel Adesanya and Nassourdine Imavov.
The post-fight octagon interview below features McKinney speaking with Paul Felder after the win. The video is a post-fight interview.
McKinney’s win came after a difficult 2024. He lost to Esteban Ribovics by knockout in May, then returned to competition the following February against Hadžović. A first-round stoppage made the bout a rapid reversal from that prior loss, but it does not establish a lasting ranking or prove that McKinney had become a title contender. McKinney produced an early finish in the first bout of his 2025 campaign, and the result moved his record forward after the Ribovics defeat.
Hadžović, nicknamed “The Bosnian Bomber,” was returning to competition after a lengthy gap. He had last fought in July 2022, when he lost a unanimous decision to Marc Diakiese. The bout with McKinney was his first appearance in more than two years. The official result records a stoppage by strikes; it does not provide a detailed round-by-round account or a personal reaction from either fighter.
There is also a difference between describing the result and narrating the finish. The published copy claimed a second-round series of strikes and suggested the referee stepped in only after a prolonged attack. Those specifics cannot be reconciled with the official time in the first round. The primary source records the method and time; the official highlight page provides the visual sequence for readers who want to see the finish itself.
McKinney has continued to add results since Riyadh. In June 2025 he submitted Viacheslav Borshchev, and in December he lost to Chris Duncan by submission. He then returned with a 24-second TKO of Kyle Nelson in March 2026. That later career arc is a reminder that one fast victory does not predict what comes next. The record includes wins and losses, and the appropriate way to assess each is to report the opponent, method, round, and time accurately.
The central fact of the Hadžović matchup is simple: McKinney won by strikes at 2:01 of the opening round. The promotion’s official event results list the TKO at that time, and its highlight page identifies the finish. These records support the corrected headline and the updated account without overstating what the fight says about either athlete’s future.
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Tags: MMA
