• UFC 120

Hathaway only just beginning to find his strength

John Hathaway is ready to set the MMA world alight at UFC 120, revealing he believes he is only just beginning to discover how best to use his many strengths.

Hathaway is only 23 years of age yet he has already beaten Diego Sanchez, a man who fought for the UFC lightweight title just six months previously. The Briton already owns a 14-0 record, but he claims he is a different fighter to when he first stepped inside the UFC.

Training at London Shootfighters, Hathaway's striking in particular has improved beyond all recognition since it was used almost as an after-thought against Rick Story at UFC 99. Boasting four straight wins in the UFC, Hathaway now meets Mike Pyle on the main card of UFC 120, and he insists his game is better than it ever has been.

"I'm at London Shootfighters, where I've been since my first UFC fight and my improvement's been phenomenal in every aspect, even in jiu-jitsu, wrestling and striking in the ground and pound," Hathaway told ESPN.co.uk.

"I've found my body a bit more as well. I'm 23 so I'm just finding my strength and finding the techniques and style that work for me. The improvement's been vast."

Pyle is a submissions dangerman, finishing 17 of 20 victories in that manner, but Hathaway, who has not finished his last three fights, claims he will be looking for a tapout of his own in London.

"If I get the chance of a submission I will take it always," he said. "But certainly some of the opponents I've faced haven't given me the chance to clinch a submission and finish it. I've tried some but inevitably I end up ground and pounding them and forcing the judges to go my way."

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