Undefeated Judo Olympian Hawn battles Maynard at Bellator 33

(PRESS RELEASE) -- After achieving his childhood goal of representing the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games, Rick Hawn was ready for a new challenge. Having been a fan of Mixed Martial Arts since his youth, Hawn made the decision to follow another one of his dreams and try his hand at MMA. Eight fights later, the undefeated Hawn looks to continue his journey at Bellator 33 when he squares off against hard-hitting LeVon "DaMaynman" Maynard in a Welterweight Special Feature Fight on October 21st in Philadelphia.

"I was always really interested in MMA. I followed MMA when I was really young when it was first on pay-per-view, but I wanted to see how far I could go with Judo first," said Hawn. "Once I reached the Olympics, I figured that it was time to start devoting the majority of my time to MMA. I was just really excited to get started on my new career."

In his last two fights, Hawn (8-0, 6 KOs) has displayed that he's far from just a grappler by knocking out New England’s Dennis Olson and UFC and Bellator veteran Shonie Carter. A fierce competitor, Hawn is always ready for a new challenge, and will have his hands full at Bellator 33 against a battle tested LeVon Maynard (10-6).

“LeVon looks to be a real tough matchup for me,” said Hawn. “I’ve watched quite a bit of video of him, and his striking ability seems really strong. He is a big, athletic fighter, and should bring a lot of energy to the fight.”

For Maynard, the 5’11 welterweight is looking to make a name for himself in Bellator by spoiling the show for the undefeated Olympian. With an already loaded fight card, “DaMaynman” is looking forward to fighting under the bright lights of Bellator.

“I’m not only excited for my fight, but also being on such a big show, with two loaded main events,” Maynard said. “There should be a lot of eyes on this show, and I’m excited everyone will get to see me fight.”

Tickets for Bellator 33 are available at www.ComcastTix.com.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.