The TUF: China finale won’t go down as one of the most memorable cards in UFC history, but it did manage to provide one of the most memorable moments. After an entertaining first two rounds that saw both men exchanging wild strikes, Kim managed to uncork a perfectly timed spinning back elbow that cracked to the side of John Hathaway’s head and dropped him to the canvas.
Kim came out wild and aggressive, much less “in control” than he has been in the past, possibly a product of his thrilling knockout of Erick Silva in his last trip to the cage. He was able to land some heavy shots, but Hathaway is a tough customer who absorbed the punishment, prompting a tweet from UFC president Dana White that read “The chin on Hathaway!!!”
The second round contained more wild brawling. While Kim was appearing to get the better of the exchanges, Hathaway had his own solid moments, catching and hurting Kim on a few occasions.
Just about a minute into round one saw Kim throw the spinning back elbow just as Hathaway leaned forward. The elbow landed clean and Hathaway crumbled to the mat, no follow-up punishment required.
Kim is now 10-2 (1 no contest) in his UFC career, the most recent loss being a TKO due to injury against Demian Maia. He’s now on a four fight win streak that includes Hathaway, Silva, Siyar Bahadurzada and Paulo Thiago.