Video: John Hathaway going after finish in UFC return vs. Dong Hyun Kim

John Hathaway has been gone, but not forgotten. The UFC welterweight has had plenty of fans wondering just when he’d be back.

Saturday, they get their answer when Hathaway (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) takes on Dong Hyun Kim (18-2-1 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the main event of the TUF China Finale from The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena. The entire card streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Hathaway has been on the shelf since a September 2012 win over John Maguire. And he knows cage rust has the potential to play a factor. But he believes he’s taken the right steps and is ready.

“It’s back to where it needs to be,” Hathaway told MMAjunkie Radio. “Obviously, I’ve got a great opponent in Kim this weekend. It’s fights like that that really spur you on and really make you want to fight. I suffer from Crohn’s disease, and I’ve had two hits of that (that kept me out). It just needs to take time to recoup on that and get the body back working properly.”

Hathaway finds himself a fairly significant underdog against Kim, who is coming off a massive knockout win over Erick Silva in Brazil this past October. Both he and Hathaway have won three straight fights in the UFC’s welterweight division, and with the weight class wide open following Georges St-Pierre’s leave of absence, the Brit believes he’s got a big opportunity in front of him.

“When you get the opportunity to fight someone like Kim – he’s been on a tear recently – you really just have to leap at it,” Hathaway said. “There are loads of great welterweight fights, and the division has really opened up now. It’s a great time to be a welterweight tin the UFC.”

But even though he’s been out for nearly 18 months, Hathaway believes if he can pull off not just an upset, but an impressive one, he might make a big leap.

“Obviously, it doesn’t help having so much time off, but I think this year the fans are going to be looking forward to my fights – especially this one and the ones following this,” he said. “With the way he’s looked, his knockout of Erick Silva, I think he’s definitely my toughest fight to date. It’s a five round fight, which gives me two extra rounds to finish it. I’m looking to finish it and not go the distance. The pressure’s on myself to get the win. But I want to go out there and perform well.”

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

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