Ahead of his comeback, a look at former UFC fighter John Hathaway's battle with the disease that kept him away from MMA for 8 years

John Hathaway is all set to grace the UFC octagon once again after more than eight years on the shelf. Nicknamed 'The Hitman', the Englishman last competed in March 2014 when he was brutally knocked out by Dong Hyun Kim for the first time in his professional career.

However, it wasn't the vicious KO that kept him on the sidelines, it was his struggles with health issues.

John Hathaway was suffering from ulcerative colitis, a severe bowel disease that leads to inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract. Ulcerative colitis affects the innermost lining of the colon or large intestine. The welterweight fighter was diagnosed with the disease in 2010 which prevented him from returning following his loss in 2014.

Speaking to MMA Junkie, 'The Hitman' detailed his battle with the disease and revealed that it was only two years ago that he started to get back into shape:

"I never thought it’d be eight years plus now. I didn’t think I was going to have all this time out and have to go through these things. I kind of withered down over that whole time and lost all my strength and my athletic ability. I’ve just kind of been getting that back over the last two years, really, and I’ve been getting back into combat."

The Brit had to undergo three surgeries to restore his health and pursue his dream as a competitor.

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When will John Hathaway fight next?

John Hathaway previously made an effort to return to the octagon. However, it wasn't successful. The British welterweight fighter was booked to take on Gunnar Nelson in 2015 but had to withdraw from the bout for not being physically ready.

As Hathaway prepares to finally make his comeback, it appears that he will have a fight outside of the UFC to see where he stands as a competitor. During the aforementioned interview with MMA Junkie, Hathway revealed that he will compete in OKTAGON MMA before potentially returning to the UFC:

"They [UFC] didn’t know what really to do with me. They were like, ‘Obviously, we don’t feel like we can just stick you back in because we don’t know what your level is now that you’ve had so long out. We’d like you to go and have some competition somewhere else and then we’ll go from there, seeing how you look and perform.’ “I guess if I’m performing and looking good, then they’ll pick me back up."

John Hathaway will feature on the OKTAGON 36 card that will take place on October 15, 2022 in Festhalle, Frankfurt. While it will mark his return to MMA, the British fighter has already competed in a grappling contest earlier this year. Hathaway, 35, took on Jack Grant in May at GrappleFest 12, but lost via decision.