Rick Hawn out of Bellator season five welterweight tournament with knee injury

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Bellator welterweight Rick Hawn has suffered a knee injury that has forced him out of the upcoming season five welterweight tournament.

Hawn announced the injury and his removal via Twitter, and said the injury would sideline him for a few months.

He was set to take part in his second Bellator tournament, having made it to the finals of the season four welterweight tournament this spring. He lost a split decision to Jay Hieron in the finals, the first loss of his career, snapping an 11-fight winning streak to start his career.

Bellator has not yet confirmed the loss of Hawn in the tournament, but they'll need to find a replacement for the eight man field, which kicks off on Sept. 10.

Penick's Analysis: That's an unfortunate loss to the field. Hawn had a definite argument in the fight against Hieron, and he lost out on a title fight by losing that decision, but he would have been the favorite in this tournament field. Still, Bellator has been able to find a number of good welterweight fighters for their tournament fields, and they should be able to find a suitable replacement for this season's tournament.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Bellator/article_10176.shtml

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