John Hathaway has a chance to reenter OKTAGON’s €1 million tournament after he withdrew due to injury.
Sunday, the promotion announced Hathaway (18-2) will fight Lukasz Siwiec (8-2) at OKTAGON 44, an event scheduled for June 17 at Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. The welterweight fight will be an alternate bout in the €1 million Tipsort Gamechanger tournament.
Hathaway, 35, returned from an eight-and-a-half-year layoff this past October when he defeated Andre Ricardo by unanimous decision at OKTAGON 36.
Once pegged as the United Kingdom’s next contender, Hathaway spent nearly a decade out of action due to a battle with ulcerative colitis. The ailment caused three surgeries including the removal of his large intestine.
Hathaway detailed his difficult journey back to competition in an exclusive interview with MMA Junkie in September that announced his return.
🚨 FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
Samuel ‘Pirát’ Krištofič is hurt so Łukasz Siwiec (8-2) 🇵🇱 takes his place in the Tipsport Gamechanger quarter-final reserve bout at OKTAGON 44.
He will face John Hathaway (18-2) 🇬🇧 who has recovered from his own injury at welterweight in Oberhausen. pic.twitter.com/ZwoySNBe3u
— OKTAGON MMA (@OktagonOfficial) April 2, 2023
Siwiec, 31, is a former Babilon MMA welterweight champion. He debuted in OKTAGON in March when he lost a split decision to David Kozma.
With the addition, the OKTAGON 44 lineup includes:
- Mohamed Grabinski vs. Andreas Michailidis – tournament quarterfinal
- Christian Jungwirth vs. Bojan Velickovic – tournament quarterfinal
- John Hathaway vs. Lukasz Siwiec
