Korean fighter Dong Hyun Kim scored his fourth consecutive win with an impressive spinning back elbow knockout of John Hathaway in the main event of UFC Fight Night 37.
The event was held at the Cotai Arena in Macau, China on Saturday night and televised on Fuel TV.
The “Stun Gun” rocked Hathaway in the opening seconds of the fight with a big right hand however was unable to get the finish as he swarmed on Hathaway. Hathaway looked to recover but was sent to the canvas again late in the round. Kim came forward straight away in the second but was drilled with an elbow that put him on the back foot momentarily. Kim finished the round on top. The end came in stunning fashion in the third round as Kim signaled for Hathaway to come forward early. He obliged however shortly after Kim countered with a spinning back elbow that knocked his opponent out cold. The end came 1:02 of round three (GIF link).
Kim moves his record to 19-2 (UFC 10-2) as he moves up the welterweight rankings. It was only Hathaway’s second career loss as he drops to 17-2 (UFC 7-2).
The event also featured the culmination of the The Ultimate Fighter: China as Zhang Lipeng edged a split points decision against Wang Sai to take out the welterweight division. After losing the first-round, Sai looked to have done enough in the next two rounds to get the decision, however two of the judges disagreed awarding Zhang the fight. The event was also set to feature a TUF featherweight finale fight, however the bout between Guangyou Ning and Jianping Yang was postponed due to an injury to Yang.
Earlier on the card, Matt Mitrione picked up an important win as the heavyweight knocked out Shawn Jordan with punches. The end came at 4:59 of the opening round.
The first fight on the main card had Japanese fighter Hatsu Hioki winning a decision over Ivan Menjivar.
The fight of the night went to Nam Yui Chul and Kazuki Tokudome who put on an entertaining brawl on the preliminary card. Chul fighter knocked down his opponent numerous times in the opening round only for the Japanese fighter to come back and nearly steal the fight in the next two rounds. Chul walked away with the split
Main Card (Fuel TV):
- Don Hyun Kim def John Hathaway via KO (Spinning Back Elbow), Rd 3, 1:02
- Zhang Lipeng def Wang Sai via Decision (Split)
- Matt Mitrione def Shawn Jordan via KO (Punches), Rd 1, 4:59
- Hatsu Hioki def Ivan Menjivar via Decision (Unanimous)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass):
- Yui Chul Nam def Kazuki Tokudome via Decision (Split)
- Vaughan Lee def Nam Phan via Decision (Unanimous)
- Anying Wang def Albert Cheng via TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage), Rd 1, 5:00
- Mark Eddiva def Tuerxun Jumabieke via Decision (Unanimous)
Awards ($50,000 bonus):
- Fight of the Night – Nam Yul Chui vs Kazuki Tokudome
- Performance of the Night – Matt Mitrione and Don Hyun Gim
