‘Doctors told me I had to stop fighting but I’m still dreaming of a world title’

John Hathaway is relishing every moment of the second-half of his MMA career as he prepares for his second bout under the OKTAGON banner.

The Brit, born and raised in Brighton, had a professional record of 17-2 including seven UFC victories before being sidelined by inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis which led to the removal of his large intestine.

Now 35 and feeling fitter than ever, Hathaway is ready to build on a dominant decision victory from October as he fights in a reserve OKTAGON Tipsport GAMECHANGER bout which includes a total prize pot of €1million (£860,000).

Hathaway told Daily Star Sport on fight week: "For me I'm taking it fight by fight but I'm doing it because I love doing it. If I win a couple of fights and get a title shot in OKTAGON then I'd love it."

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Hathaway (18-2) was on a UFC win streak of three fights before being stopped by Dong Hyun Kim in China back in 2014 – and wouldn't fight for another 3151 days.

Despite that, welterweight Hathaway remained in UFC's USADA testing pool and trained to the best of his ability before defying doctors to recover from surgery and regain fight fitness.

His OKTAGON return came with the blessing of UFC bosses – and he felt right at home in pushing for a finish of Andre Ricardo.

He said of his comeback: "It felt like a dream come true being able to get back in. I felt no different from how I used to feel when I was competing regularly.

"I just felt focused at the time and not nervous or apprehensive, it was just happiness about being able to fight again.

"It felt like nothing had changed. There was so much interest in me and that was a pleasure but I'd do it if there was nobody watching, I do it because I love it."

Hathaway's return comes against Poland's Lukasz Siwiec, who has a professional record of 8-2 and only lost by split decision to former champion David Kozma last time out.

The OKTAGON 44 event will be headlined by Pavol Langer vs Alexander Poppeck as well as Bojan Velickovic vs Christian Jungwirth in a Tipsport GAMECHANGER quarter-final.

Hathaway, who will now only rejoin the tournament if he wins on Saturday night and an injury forces a fighter into withdrawing, is still relishing the chance to fight in front of the raucous European fans.

He concluded: “There’s something about these fans. “I've always enjoyed competing in Germany, this will be my third time, they love good fights and hopefully this will be another one.”

Watch Hathaway vs Siwiec on the OKTAGON 44 prelims live on OKTAGON.TV & DAZN this Saturday from Oberhausen Germany.

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