The second chapter of John Hathaway’s MMA career is starting to ramp up, and business is now getting serious.
After making a successful return to competition in October after a more than eight-year layoff due to a plethora of health issues, Hathaway (18-2) is now back in the swing of his combat career and is looking to make an impact.
He’ll get a chance to do so this year, because OKTAGON MMA has announced the six-time UFC veteran will join its 16-man welterweight tournament, which begins March 4 in Ostrava (via Twitter):
HE. IS. IN❗️
Last year, John Hathaway (18-2) 🇬🇧 made a winning return to MMA after overcoming serious health issues.
In the next chapter of his comeback, he enters the €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger welterweight tournament.
The opening round begins at OKTAGON 40 on March 4. pic.twitter.com/aOHtFAWnfc
— Scott Lagdon (@scott_lagdon) January 26, 2023
With his addition to the tournament, Hathaway joins former OKTAGON MMA welterweight champ David Kozma then others such as Christian Eckerlin, Bojan Velickovic and Mate Kertesz as confirmed members of the bracket.
Matchups have yet to be announced, but the promoters of OKTAGON MMA told MMA Junkie in December that the winner “will get 300,000 Euros, which is the biggest prize money ever paid in any MMA project in Europe.”
Hathaway, 35, defeated Andre Ricardo Chaves Santos by unanimous decision at Oktagon 36 in October. It was his first fight since March 2014, when he suffered the first spinning back elbow knockout in UFC history against Dong Hyun Kim.
