Hayder Hassan (, born October 20, 1982) is an American former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2009 to 2019, he has competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, Titan FC, King of the Cage, the Xtreme Fighting Championships, Brave Combat Federation and was a contestant on as well as .
Born and raised in Florida, Hassan and his family were refugees from Baghdad, Iraq who relocated in 1977. His father, who was a physician, personally trekked from their home in Iraq to an American embassy. Hassan attended Cardinal Gibbons High School, where he was a standout in wrestling and football before graduating from Florida State University after which he had planned to attend medical school and majored in sociology. However, after leaving his job as a sales representative for a pharmaceutical firm, he transitioned to a career in MMA and began training at the American Top Team academy in Coconut Creek.
Hassan competed on the 21st season of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter, representing American Top Team and making it to the final. In his first fight he defeated Andrews Nakahara via TKO in the first round. In his second fight he defeated Felipe Portela by majority decision. In his third fight he faced Vicente Luque and won via split decision.
Hassan made his debut with the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 12, 2015 against Kamaru Usman at '. He lost the bout via arm triangle choke submission in the second round.
Hassan next faced former opponent Vicente Luque at UFC on Fox 17 on December 19, 2015. He lost the fight via anaconda choke technical submission in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.
In February 2017, it was revealed that Hassan would compete again on the UFC's reality show in the 25th season on '. Hassan was the fifth pick overall for Team Garbrandt. He faced Dhiego Lima in the opening round and lost by unanimous decision. He defeated former world title contender Joe Stevenson by knockout in the wildcard bout, but ended up losing to eventual season winner Jesse Taylor via rear naked choke submission in the first round.
|- |Loss |align=center|9âÂÂ5 |Carl Booth |Decision (unanimous) |Brave CF 32 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan | |- |Win |align=center|9âÂÂ4 |Movsar Bokov |Decision (unanimous) |M-1 Challenge 103 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Shenzhen, China | |- |Win |align=center|8âÂÂ4 |Hemant Wadekar |TKO (knee and punches) |Kumite 1 League | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:34 |Mumbai, India | |- |Win |align=center|7âÂÂ4 |Pavel Kusch |Decision (unanimous) |Phoenix FC 6 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |- |Loss |align=center|6âÂÂ4 |Roger Huerta |DQ (elbows to back of head) |Phoenix FC 4 | |align=center|2 |align=center|0:53 |Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |- |Loss |align=center|6âÂÂ3 |Vicente Luque |Technical Submission (anaconda choke) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:13 |Orlando, Florida, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|6âÂÂ2 |Kamaru Usman |Submission (arm-triangle choke) | | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:19 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|6âÂÂ1 |Felipe Portela |TKO (punch) |Titan FC 31 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:23 |Tampa, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|5âÂÂ1 |Jason Jackson |TKO (punches) |CFA 12 | |align=center|3 |align=center|2:32 |Coral Gables, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|4âÂÂ1 | Robert Thompson | Decision (unanimous) | Mixed Fighting Alliance: New Generation 1 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Miami, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|3âÂÂ1 |Ryan Keenan |KO (punch) | | |align=center|2 |align=center|2:42 |Miami, Florida, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|2âÂÂ1 |Gerardo Julio Gallegos |TKO (punches) |XFC 9 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:57 |Tampa, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|2âÂÂ0 |Roy McDonald |TKO (punches) |Raging Wolf 3 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:19 |Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|1âÂÂ0 |Kenny Allen |TKO (punches) |KOTC: Hurricane | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:09 |Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States | |-
|- |Loss |align=center|4âÂÂ2 |Jesse Taylor | Submission (rear-naked-choke) |rowspan=3| | (airdate) | align=center|1 | align=center|1:24 |rowspan=3| Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|4âÂÂ1 |Joe Stevenson |KO (punch) | (airdate) |align=center|1 |align=center|0:18 | |- |Loss |align=center|3âÂÂ1 |Dhiego Lima |Decision (unanimous) | (airdate) |align=center|2 |align=center|5:00 | |- |Win |align=center|3âÂÂ0 |Vicente Luque |Decision (split) |rowspan=3| | (airdate) |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 | Coconut Creek, Florida, United States |rowspan=3| |- |win |align=center|2âÂÂ0 |Felipe Portela |Decision (majority) | (airdate) |align=center|2 |align=center|5:00 |rowspan=2|Boca Raton, Florida, United States |- |Win |align=center|1âÂÂ0 |Andrews Nakahara |TKO (punches) | (airdate) |align=center|1 | align=center|0:48