Former UFC contender John Hathaway is aiming to complete the ultimate comeback story after overcoming his battle with ulcerative colitis.
‘The Hitman’ Hathaway was one of Britain’s MMA prospects when he made his UFC debut, aged 22, back in 2009. With a record of 7-2 in the promotion, the Brighton native earned the right to headline his first event against Dong Hyun Kim in 2014 but it would be eight years before he next stepped into the octagon.
Hathaway was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2010 but continued to compete until eventually taking the decision to step away from the sport. The welterweight was given countless medications to fight his illness until finally undergoing surgery on his large intestine after spending a year in and out of hospital.
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“You start by saying there's no way I'm going on immune suppressants, that's terrible. Then you do it. Then you say I'll never get surgery, then you do it,” Hathaway explained. “I had the birth of my daughter coming up, so I wanted to do it as fast as possible.
“Normally it's over two years and we got it done in eight months. But I don't have to worry about it flaring up again because I had my large intestine removed and it completely removed the problem.”
He added: “I had a hole in my stomach for eight months. I had my stomach wall sewn back together after deep adhesions and it was initially difficult to stand up. I'm more hunched and probably shorter than I used to be from these cuts.”
It all added up to an eight-year absence from MMA but Hathaway was determined to return to the fight game. After the surgery, it took the 35-year-old 18 months to fully recover but he continually struggled to find opponents due to a mix of his impressive 18-2 record - which includes a win over UFC Hall of Fame inductee Diego Sanchez; questions over his current ability; and a clause in his UFC contract.
Hathaway eventually struck a deal with European promotion Oktagon, making his long-awaited return with a victory in October. ‘The Hitman’ was scheduled to take part in the organisation’s welterweight tournament, which includes a €1m prize, before injury forced him to withdraw. However, his dreams of becoming a millionaire are not completely over.
On Saturday, he will be fighting Lukasz Siwiec at Oktagon 44 for the right to become first reserve, should injury impact the welterweight tournament bracket as it heads towards the semi-final stage.
“I was adrift for a little bit trying to find a promotion who would take me because I have a clause where if the UFC wants me I have to jump to them,” Hathaway said. “I'm really happy to be fighting for Oktagon. Oktagon got me back fighting. A lot of organisations were like you either have to get out of your contract with the UFC or it's not going to work.
“I want to get back into the tournament. I was in it but I got injured, so me and Lukas are fighting for the replacement spot in this tournament. We are one step away from it, it's a hard one because you've almost got to wish for some in the tournament to get injured and replace them. Ideally I get back in and win the tournament.”
If that fairytale does not come to fruition, though, Hathaway already has his eyes on a fresh target. Oktagon is set to host its first UK event in Manchester later this year, which would be the first time he has fought on home soil since his UFC win over John Maguire in Nottingham, 11 years ago.
“Manchester would be amazing on the Oktagon fight night in November. I haven't competed in the UK for over ten years, so it would be fantastic. Oktagon have some good welterweights on their roster, so it would be amazing to get out there and compete in front of a home crowd. “
Reflecting on his motivation to continue his MMA journey after his illness, Hathaway summed up his fighting spirit: “I was never going to let it overcome me. I wanted to fight again. There's not necessarily a particular fight I wanted. I just had a will to compete again. I had that end goal to get back to what I love doing.”
Fans can watch John Hathawaty in action at Oktagon 44 live on DAZN and Oktagon TV.
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