Bojan Veličković (Serbian: Бојан Величковић; born December 18, 1988) is a Serbian mixed martial artist and sambist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has competed for the UFC, Professional Fighters League, and RFA, where he was the Welterweight Champion. Currently, He competes in Oktagon MMA, where he won the 16-men Oktagon MMA Welterweight Tournament.
Background
Born and raised in Novi Sad, Serbia, Veličković began training in judo at the age of ten, before transitioning to Muay Thai at 14. Then at the age of 22, he began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts. In Muay Thai, Veličković holds a record of 14–2.[4]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Veličković was a gold medalist in amateur MMA at the FILA World Wrestling Federation before making his professional debut in 2010 as part of the "Road to the Ring of Fire" reality show. Veličković won all four fights and the show. He then began competing for the Tesla Fighting Championship in his native Serbia, where he was also Welterweight champion.
Resurrection Fighting Alliance
After compiling a professional record of 9–2, Veličković signed with the promotion in 2014. After losing his promotional debut to former UFC competitor and Ultimate Fighter Season 17 contestant Gilbert Smith, he won his next four fights with the promotion, capturing the Welterweight Championship in his final fight before signing with the UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Veličković signed with the UFC after compiling a record of 13–3 first and relocating to Colorado.[5]
Veličković made his promotional debut against Alessio Di Chirico on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86.[6] He won the fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 30–27).[7]
Veličković next faced Michael Graves on July 30, 2016, at UFC 201.[8] The bout was declared a majority draw.[9]
Veličković faced Nico Musoke on May 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 109.[12] He won the fight by knockout in the third round.[13] This win also earned Veličković his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[14]
Veličković faced Jake Matthews on November 19, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 121.[16] He lost the fight via split decision, and was subsequently released from the promotion.[17]
PFL
After the release from the UFC, Veličković signed with Professional Fighters League, participating the inaugural season's welterweight bracket.[18] He advanced from the regular season to quarterfinals where he eventually was eliminated, but was brought back to semifinals due to an injury of Abubakar Nurmagomedov. He lost the semifinal bout against Magomed Magomedkerimov via second round knockout.
Veličković also participated in the 2019 season of the Professional Fighters League, ending up losing both of his regular season bouts and not advancing to the playoffs.[19]
Post-PFL career
Veličković was expected to face Escley Araujo at Serbian Battle Championship 27 on March 14, 2020. However, Araujo withdrew from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Danillo Santos. Veličković won the fight via second-round submission.[20]
Veličković then challenged Vladislav Kanchev for the SBC Welterweight Championship at Serbian Battle Championship 29 on November 7, 2020.[21] He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Oktagon MMA
As the first bout of his three-fight contract with Oktagon MMA, Veličković faced Emmanuel Dawa at Oktagon 25 on June 19, 2021.[2] He won the fight via technical knockout after the first round.[22]
In his sophomore appearance he faced Carlo Prater at Oktagon 27 on September 11, 2021. He won the fight via first-round technical knockout.[23]
Veličković faced David Kozma for the Oktagon MMA Welterweight Championship on December 4, 2021, at Oktagon 29. He lost the bout via TKO in the 4th round.[24][25]
Veličković faced Máté Kertész on March 26, 2022, at Oktagon Prime 5. He won the bout via unanimous decision.[26]
Veličković faced Leandro Silva on October 15, 2022, at Oktagon 36.[27] He lost the bout via split decision.[28]
Veličković faced Ion Surdu on March 4, 2023, at Oktagon 40 in the Oktagon Welterweight Tournament Round of 16, winning bout via the anaconda choke in the first round.[29]
In the Quarterfinals, Veličković faced Christian Jungwirth on June 17, 2023, at Oktagon 44, winning the bout and advancing via unanimous decision.[30]
The semi-finals saw Veličković face David Kozma on September 16, 2023, at Oktagon 46, knocking him out in the first round.[31]
In the finals, Veličković faced Andreas Michailidis on December 29, 2023, submitting him in the third round via rear-naked choke to win the 300 thousand euro prize for winning the tournament.[32]
