After savage KO win, UFC’s Dong Hyun Kim no longer satisfied with just winning

Back in October Dong Hyun Kim knocked out Erick Silva with one of the year’s most savage knockouts. After experiencing the reaction to it, Kim is now eager to repeat the performance.

“With the most recent win, it’s probably given [fans] a different assessment of me compared to all eight of the [UFC] wins prior,” he recently told MMAjunkie through a translator. “From here on, I believe this is how it’ll be, how I’ll fight at the event.”

The victory, which took place in October in UFC Fight Night 29's co-headliner, netted Kim a $50,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus. It also put the welterweight division on notice. With his first knockout win since his UFC debut in 2008, the massive South Korean moved up to No. 10 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings.

Kim (18-2-1 MMA, 9-2 UFC) can now make further progress in what’s become one of the UFC’s most intriguing divisions when he meets John Hathaway (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) on March 1. The duo headlines The Ultimate Fighter China Finale. The event streams on UFC Fight Pass from The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena in Macau.

It’ll be Hathaway’s first fight in 17 months, and though ring rust is a potential issue for the English fighter, Kim sees no reason to expect it.

“John Hathaway is the type of fighter who’s hard to write off,” he said. “He only had one loss before (the injury layoff). I’ll just have to come out with a great plan and a technical plan.

“I don’t want to just try to win the main event. I want to really come out and leave a memorable result.”

It’s the first UFC main event slot for 32-year-old Kim, and with a victory, he could be a key piece of the UFC’s expansion plans in Asia.

“It’s an absolute honor for me,” he said of the headlining spot. “I’m really going to be prepared to put on the absolute best match ever for the fans.”

Kim has picked up quality wins during his six-year run in the UFC. He’s defeated Matt Brown, Nate Diaz and Paulo Thiago, though his biggest bouts ended up in losses to contenders Carlos Condit and Demian Maia. But he considers the Silva victory a turning point, and he believes MMA fans should get used to the type of performances they saw that night.

“I haven’t really given much thought to getting a title shot just yet, but I really think that getting the opportunity to get a huge win against Erick Silva has given me an opportunity to really get me there,” he said. “I think it showed what ‘Stun Gun’ Dong Hyun Kim can show.”

For more on the TUF China Finale, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.