UFC Welterweight Bout: Dong Hyun Kim vs. John Hathaway
Odds: (-365 Kim / +275 Hathaway )
Betting Pick: Stun Gun
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In the main event of UFC Fight Night 37, two of the UFC’s most promising Welterweight contenders will square off as Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim faces John “The Hitman” Hathaway. With the recent retirement of former champions Georges St. Pierre, the UFC’s Welterweight division is wide open, and a win here for either guy would go a long way toward cementing them as important players in the cloudy title picture.
Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim is one of the UFC’s most versatile and effective Welterweights. He has solid punching and good technical boxing, effective wrestling, and a very dangerous clinch game with solid clinch striking and very good hip throws. Kim’s only two professional losses came to Demian Maia and Carlos Condit, both top Welterweights, and he has only been legitimately stopped once as a professional. Kim isn’t one of the best in the world at any one thing, but he puts his offense together very well and is extremely effective at transitioning from standing to the ground game. Hathaway is a very solid grappler, but lacks some of Kim’s finesse on the feet, so if Kim can use his grappling defensively and use clinches to set up striking and neutralize Hathaway, he will be in a great position to win this one.
John “The Hitman” Hathway has lost only once as a professional, a unanimous decision defeat against veteran Mike Pyle. Hathaway has looked very impressive so far in his young career, but he has not faced nearly the level of competition that Kim has faced. In fact, Kim represents easily the best fighter that Hathaway has ever faced. Hathaway is a skilled wrestler with a good top game and impressive positional control. I think that, if he tries to stand with Kim, he is going to be in for some trouble. Kim is the better boxer and much better at controlling fights in the clinch. If Hathaway can secure some takedowns, though, and control the fight from top position, I think Kim will have a hard time mounting any offense off his back.
John Hathaway is a skilled fighter with a bright future, but right now Kim is just too much for him. Kim is the better striker, has a better clinch game, and is at least as effective a wrestler as Hathaway. Once Hathaway gets more top-level experience, he will be a formidable figure in UFC’s Welterweight division, but for right now I don’t think he is ready for Kim. Expect the Korean to take a relatively one-sided unanimous decision.
Prediction: The Stun Gun by Unanimous Decision.
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