Kim drops Hathaway with vicious elbow

By Kim Young-jin

Kim Dong-hyun lived up to his “Stun Gun” moniker on Saturday, dropping John Hathaway with a vicious elbow for an impressive victory at UFC Fight Night in Macau.

Though Kim didn’t fulfill his pre-fight prediction that he’d end the fight in two rounds, the welterweight left no doubt about his striking ability after his spinning back elbow in the third round floored his British opponent.

With the blow, the 32-year-old unabashedly inserted himself in the conversation for a title shot.

The victory capped an impressive night for Korean fighters as Nam Yui-chul earlier gritted out a three-round, split decision win over Kazuki Takudome.

The headlining bout was a competitive affair, with Hathaway battling back from Kim’s opening salvos. The Korean tried to finish his opponent in the first, but the Brit managed to tie him up while landing a few of his own blows. Hathaway managed to escape a barrage as the round ended.

In the second, Hathaway had Kim reeling from an elbow followed by some punches. But the Stun Gun landed a few of his own and fought out from under the Brit at the end of the round.

Kim had been threatening to land a spinning elbow throughout the fight. It happened in the third. The two fighters were clinched, and after breaking Hathaway missed an elbow. With lightning speed, Kim spun and landed his elbow flush in his opponents face for the highlight finish.

“There’s no stopping,” Kim said. “I’m going to continue to go forward, forward, forward.

“I don’t care who (the next opponent) is, I want a shot at the title.”

It was the Korean’s fourth win in a row and improved his UFC record to 10-2. Moreover, it was his second straight knockout win, proving he can strike as well as wrestle. The showing also moved him closer to an eventual title shot.

While the elbow heard around the world will be the evening’s most remembered event, the Nam-Takudome bout was as exciting as they come.

Nam came in with both barrels blazing, landing several blows to the face in the first round as he tried to end the fight early. A hard right about a minute in sent Takudome down and the Korean landed more blows on the mat.

But Takudome turned the tables in the second, scoring a quick takedown and landing several punches with Nam pinned to the fence. The two continued the epic battle in the third, with Nam eventually winning the split decision. For their efforts, both were awarded and extra $50,000 for what was named “Fight of the Night.”

It was the first UFC bout for Nam, 32, a former Road FC lightweight champion.

Kim was awarded a “performance bonus” of $50,000 as well.