• UFC

Strikers need to find ways to beat wrestlers - Hathaway

ESPN staff
September 20, 2010
John Hathaway is undefeated in the UFC © UFC
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John Hathaway has confessed he feels some sympathy with wrestlers accused of killing fights in MMA, and he admits judges have a tough job on their hands to know when to intervene.

Hathaway is a good friend of fellow British welterweight Dan Hardy, who labelled Nik Lentz the UFC's answer to Gandhi after he ground out a dour victory over Andre Winner at UFC 118. Hardy later told ESPN that fighters should leave the UFC if they are going to avoid confrontation on fight night.

A wrestler by trade, Hathaway understands Hardy's comments, but he insists it is not always easy to be as active as planned when embroiled in a ground battle. The London Shootfighters pupil also admitted he would not want to be a judge.

"It's a hard one to comment on," Hathaway wrote in his exclusive blog for ESPN. "Quite often a wrestler like Lentz can pull off a submission or inflict ground and pound and it's exciting, but there are going to be times when an individual can become too involved in the importance of the fight, where takedowns and ground control suddenly take over from the will to do damage.

"Judges and referees have a tough job. You definitely cannot break people up when they're in certain positions.

"Let's not forget, sometimes it's up to the guy on his back to find a way to get back to his feet. That's part of mixed martial arts. He also has to find a way to establish a range so that he can get his strikes off without being taken down."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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