UFC on FUEL TV 5: September 29, 2012 Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England UFC Welterweight Contender John Hathaway (-260) Profile: John “The Hitman” Hathaway (16-1) has had a short yet extremely successful MMA career thus far. At 25 years old and with only six years of pro fighting experience, he has but a single loss on his record – a unanimous decision loss to Mike Pyle at UFC 120. In every other fight, Hathaway has looked like the great British hope of the MMA welterweight division. He has beaten Diego Sanchez and Rick Story and is currently on a two-fight winning streak, defeating Kris McCray and Pascal Krauss in the past 18 months. Leading up to his UFC tenure, Hathaway was finishing oppoinents left and right, either by submission or via KO, although five of his six wins within the organization have been by decision. UFC Welterweight Contender John Maguire (+200) Profile: The impressive wielder of what is known as Gypsy Jiu-Jitsu, John Maguire (18-3) has started his UFC run in impressive fashion, earning a unanimous decision against Justin Edwards at UFC 136 and submitting Jeremy Horn-trained DaMarques Johnson at UFC on FUEL TV 2 to run his overall winning streak to seven. The 29-year-old Englishman seems incredibly confident in his abilities, and it shows in the Octagon. He is willing to strike and grapple and will adjust quickly to whatever his opponent throws at him, emerging from some of the European circuit B-leagues to find some success so far in the UFC. Opening UFC on FUEL TV 5 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Hathaway a moderate -260 favorite (bet $260 to win $100) while Maguire opened as a +200 underdog (bet $200 to win $100) according to the MMA odds. This is the only bout on the entire UFC on FUEL TV 5 card that matches up two Brits against each other, which means neither will likely be able to claim the crowd as an advantage. That being said, Maguire is capable of making this competitive enough to qualify for Fight of the Night honors if he can just avoid becoming Hathaway’s first UFC submission victim. Hathaway has finished just one of his seven opponents since being signed by the organization and would love nothing more than to register his first submission back on his home soil, where he has split two previous UFC bouts. But he will be looking to put a halt to a seven-fight winning streak for Maguire, who has never been submitted in 21 pro fights.
