The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way back to CotaiArena in Cotai, Macau tonight for UFC Fight Night: “Kim vs Hathaway.” The event was headlined by an entertaining welterweight matchup between divisional standouts Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim and John “The Hitman” Hathaway.
Also on the card, Lipeng “The Warrior” Zhang faced off against Wang “The Fire Kylin” Sai in The Ultimate Fighter China welterweight final, and Matt Mitrione battled Shawn “The Savage” Jordan in a heavyweight showdown. MMARising.com has play-by-play for tonight’s UFC Fight Night card.
Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim vs John “The Hitman” Hathaway
Round 1:
Kim landed a looping left hook right away, but Hathaway countered with two solid knees to the body. Kim rocked him with a right hook and followed with more punches as Hathaway tried to regain his footing. Hathaway recovered and took Kim down. Kim stood and connected with huge left hands. Hathaway attempted a flying switch knee and Kim cracked him with more punches. Kim avoided kicks from Hathaway and dropped him with a left hook. He landed ground and pound as Hathaway tried to hold on. Kim stood and landed an axe kick to the body. 10-9 Kim.
Round 2:
Hathaway landed a counter knee to the body in round two and Kim clinched against the fence. He scored with an elbow, but Hathaway backed him up with a right hook. Hathaway tried for a takedown, but Kim remained on his feet. Wild punches were exchanged and Hathaway landed another knee to the body. Kim landed a big left hook and Hathaway responded with an uppercut. Kim threw Hathaway to the ground and worked from the top in side control. He landed hammerfists just before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Hathaway, barely.
Round 3:
Hathaway landed a body kick and an elbow in the final round and clinched against the cage. Kim created space and took two steps backwards. He landed a devastating spinning back elbow to the face and an unconscious Hathaway collapsed to the mat.
Winner: Dong Hyun Kim by KO (Spinning Back Elbow) at 1:02 of round three. He improves to 19-2-1, 1 ND.
TUF China Welterweight Final
Lipeng “The Warrior” Zhang vs Wang “The Fire Kylin” Sai
Round 1:
Zhang opened the action with a right hook and a leg kick in round one. The fighters traded leg kicks and Zhang landed another hard right hand. More leg kicks were exchanged and Zhang took Sai down into side control. He transitioned to Sai’s back and worked for a rear-naked choke. Sai appeared to be in trouble, but he eventually managed to spin into the choke and escaped. Sai landed elbows from the top and Zhang tried for a triangle choke. Sai fought free and took Zhang’s back, but Zhang defended well until the end of the round. 10-9 Zhang.
Round 2:
Zhang tried to take Sai down in round two, but he wound up on the bottom. The fighters stood and Zhang tried for another takedown against the fence, but Sai countered with elbows. Time was called after an accidental illegal knee from Zhang, but action quickly resumed and he took Sai down. Sai stood with Zhang on his back and Zhang got him down again. He suplexed Sai and tried for a rear-naked choke, but Sai scrambled out and secured back control himself. Zhang escaped and looked for a heel hook. Sai wound up on top and he landed short strikes until the bell. Close round. 10-9 Sai.
Round 3:
Zhang countered a takedown from Sai by trapping him in rubber guard early in the final round. Sai pulled his arm free and cut Zhang with hammerfists. The fighters were stood up and Zhang landed a right hook, but Sai reversed a takedown and took Zhang’s back. Sai tried for a rear-naked choke, but Zhang turned into his guard. A scramble ensued and Sai wound up on top. He stood and kicked at Zhang’s legs, then returned to his guard. Sai fought free of Zhang’s rubber guard with punches and elbows. The fighters stood and exchanged punches to close out the fight. 10-9 Sai.
Winner: Lipeng Zhang by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30) after three rounds. He improves to 7-7-1 and becomes the TUF China Welterweight Winner.
Matt Mitrione vs Shawn “The Savage” Jordan
Round 1:
Big punches were exchanged right away, but neither man landed cleanly. Both scored with leg kicks and Mitrione fired off a left hook. He landed another left hand and Jordan answered with an uppercut in close. After an exchange of uppercuts, Jordan landed a leg kick and both men connected with overhand lefts. Jordan caught a kick and backed Mitrione up against the cage. Mitrione reversed the clinch and rocked Jordan with punches. Jordan tried to circle away, but Mitrione chased him down and dropped him with a barrage of left and right hooks just before the bell.
Winner: Matt Mitrione by KO (Punches) at 4:59 of round one. He improves to 7-3-0.
Hatsu Hioki vs “The Pride of El Salvador” Ivan Menjivar
Round 1:
Menjivar caught an early body kick and tried to take Hioki down. Hioki countered with left hands and Menjivar landed elbows to the temple. Hioki took Menjivar’s back in a scramble and worked for a standing rear-naked choke. Menjivar turned into the clinch and landed uppercuts. Hioki threw a knee and circled out. Menjivar initiated another clinch against the cage, but Hioki tripped him to the mat. He struck from the top and transitioned from a rear-naked choke to an armbar and finally to a kneebar before the bell. 10-9 Hioki.
Round 2:
Hioki opened round two with body kicks and the pace slowed down as the fighters circled. Both landed punches in a brief exchange and Hioki tripped Menjivar into side control. He took Menjivar’s back and tried for a rear-naked choke and an armbar. Menjivar escaped and Hioki switched to a triangle choke, but Menjivar punched his way free. The fighters stood and Hioki fought off knees to the body by taking Menjivar back down. He struck from the top in half-guard and locked on a kimura in the final 20 seconds. 10-9 Hioki.
Round 3:
Menjivar landed right hands and a standing elbow in the final round. He dropped Hioki with a counter right cross off of a Hioki leg kick. Hioki, bleeding from the forehead, stood up and ate an elbow from Menjivar. A head kick was blocked by Hioki, but Menjivar remained the aggressor and he attempted a spinning backfist. Menjivar landed more right hands and Hioki answered with body kicks. He took Menjivar down, but Menjivar trapped him in a kneebar just before time expired. 10-9 Menjivar.
Winner: Hatsu Hioki by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 27-7-2.
Undercard Fights:
– “The Korean Bulldozer” Yui Chul Nam defeated Kazuki Tokudome by Split Decision (29-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 18-4-1 with the win.
– Vaughan Lee defeated Nam Phan by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 14-9-1 with the win.
– Anying “Smiley” Wang defeated Albert Cheng by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 5:00 of round one. He improves to 2-0-0 with the win.
– Mark Eddiva defeated Jumabieke “The Wild Wolf” Tuerxun by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 6-0-0 with the win.