John Hathaway vs Dong Hyun Kim Headlines TUF China Finale

John Hathaway vs Dong Hyun Kim Headlines TUF China Finale
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

John Hathaway will take on Dong Hyun Kim at the Finale of The Ultimate Fighter China, in the main event of the evening.

The Finale of TUF: China will take place on March 1st, at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena and streams on UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s recently launched digital network which is currently unavailable in The UK. A launch date for the service in the UK is yet to be confirmed.

Hathaway vs Kim where originally scheduled to meet over 3 years ago at UFC 120 in London, however an injury force Kim to withdraw from the card.

One of the UK's most promising prospects, John Hathaway (17-1, 7-1 UFC) had his UFC debut in 2009 at UFC 93, where he defeated Tom Egan by TKO. He followed that up with decision wins over Rick Story, Paul Taylor and Diego Sanchez before falling short against Mike Pyle, who replaced Kim at UFC 120.

Following the loss to Pyle, Hathaway rebounded with decision wins over Kris McCray, Pascal Krauss and John Maguire, however the 26 year old has not fought since 2012 due to an inflammatory bowel disease known as ulcerative colitis.

South Korean, Kim (18-2, 9-2 UFC) enters the bout on a 3 fight win streak made up of impressive decision victories over Paulo Thiago, Siyar Bahadurzada, and most recently Erik Silva, who he knocked in a shock “Knockout of the Night” victory.

A long time top 10 welterweight, Kim's only 2 losses have come to former interim champion Carlos Condit, and Damian Maia, a bout which Kim lost due to an injury sustained during a throw.

The Ultimate Fighter: China features a cast of featherweights and welterweights and is currently airing on Liaoning Satellite TV in China. Former Strikeforce champion Cung Le serves as an a mentor to the fighters.