A knee injury has forced Rick Hawn out of the upcoming Bellator welterweight tournament that was scheduled to begin September 10th in Atlantic City, NJ. Hawn broke the news through his Twitter account though Bellator has yet to confirm his withdrawal or name a replacement for him. Hawn was scheduled to take on Ben Saunders in the opening round. Hawn started his MMA career 10-0 including wins over former Bellator welterweight champ Lyman Good and fellow judo practitioner Jim Wallhead. He suffered his first loss in the season four welterweight tournament finals to Jay Hieron that was considered very controversial by many. The victory secured a title shot against current kingpin Ben Askren for Heiron.
Hawn had success in combat sports prior to entering the world of MMA as he was an Olympic representative for the US Judo team. He only elaborated on his injury by saying that it would keep him on the shelf for a few months and the tournament is scheduled to end in December. One would assume that he would be a strong favorite the next time Bellator stages a tournament in his weight class.
