Professional mixed martial artist Rick Hawn has his foundation as a Judoka, with a decorated career spanning a decade of international Judo competition. Hawn received medals in the Pan Am Championships, Pan Am Games, US Open, Canadian Open, Korea Cup, and US National Championships from 1999 through 2008.

Perhaps most notable of Rick Hawn's Judo accomplishments is that he is an Olympian, having competing for the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. In the single elimination bracket Hawn defeated Krgyzstan's Erkin Ibragimov in the round of 32 and then lost to Poland's Robert Krawczyk in the round of 16. Hawn then picked up one more victory in the tournament's "repechage" bracket, defeating Libya's Mohamed Ben Saleh in the first round and then losing to Azerbaijan's Mehman Azizov in the quarterfinals.

Hawn transitioned full-time to MMA in 2008 and racked up 6 straight wins in regional promotions across Massachusetts in 2009 and early 2010, in the World Championship Fighting and Cage Fighting Xtreme organizations. An impressive victory in the main event of the WCF 9 card in February 2010 over Team Bombsquad's Tom Gallichio, combined with Hawn's notoriety as an Olympic athlete, led to interest from national-level promoters. Hawn was signed by the Shine Fights promotion to take on jiu-jitsu expert Braulio Estima on the main card of the now infamous "Worlds Collide" show in May 2010. The event was canceled the day it was intended to take place, with all competitors already on-location in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Rebounding from the disappointment of an evaporated spot on a pay per view main card, Hawn picked up another 2 regional wins, including one over former UFC competitor Shonie Carter. With his professional record then standing at a perfect 8-0, Rick Hawn was signed by the Bellator Fighting Championships in September of 2010.

Hawn qualified for the Season Four Welterweight Tournament with a first round KO over Levon Maynard. Although he was able to get two decisions to go his way, including one over Lyman Good, he would lose in the tournament final to Jay Heiron by a controversial split decision. He was supposed to participate in the Season Five Welterweight Tournament, but an injury sidelined him for nearly a year. Hawn came back with a vengeance though, when he made the drop down a weightclass for the first time in order to take part in the Season Six Lightweight Tournament. He was able to finish both of his first two opponents by KO in less than eight minutes total. Rick next took on Brent Weedman in his second tournament final. This time, he was able to pull out the decision win and recieved the customary $100,000 prize that comes with winning a Bellator tournament. He is set to receive his title shot when he takes on Michael Chandler at Bellator 85. 

Photo via www.rickhawn.com.

At Bellator 85, Hawn unsuccessfully challenged for the Bellator Lightweight Championship against Michael Chandler. He was defeated via 2nd round submission.