“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering, but fighting well.”—Pierre de Coubertin

Nothing can take the place of sacrifice and hard work.

For some, it becomes the perfect recipe for fulfilling an Olympic dream.

Rick Hawn, has an incredibly impressive judo resume, which includes participation in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece. Over 200 countries (201 to be exact) and 10,000+ athletes from around the world were honoured to represent their home countries at these games, having competed in over 28 different sporting events.

What made these Olympics even more special was the fact that it was also the first time since 1896 that the Olympics were held back in Greece.

A truly historical event.

At this time, Hawn is an unbeaten welterweight (8-0-0) who has just recently signed a 3-year contract with the Bellator Fighting Championships.

Hawn currently trains his striking at Sityodtong, which is a highly reputable Muay Thai training academy from the Boston area, and he also holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, where he studies under Renzo Gracie.

If you don’t already know the name Rick Hawn, you had better get it memorized. This former Olympic Judoka is the absolute “real deal,” and he raises the bar against anyone that would dare to compete with him.

MMA fans constantly crave mainstream credibility and acceptance.

Well, it just doesn’t get any better than this.

Please enjoy my interview.


James Ryan: Hi Rick, thanks for taking the time to speak with me today.

Rick Hawn: My pleasure, James.


James Ryan: To begin with, let me start by offering my congratulations on your recent signing with Bellator.

Rick Hawn: Thank you very much. I’m very excited.


James Ryan: So how does that work exactly? Have you been signed specifically for an upcoming tournament?

Rick Hawn: Actually, I believe that my first fight is going to be on the 30th of September, and then win, lose or draw, I’m still going to fight in a tournament that starts in January.


James Ryan: Who you will be fighting on the 30th?

Rick Hawn: They told me a kid named, LeVon Maynard. He’s been around a little bit, but I haven’t really looked him up too much yet.


James Ryan: How has the training been going then? Any problems preparing for this fight on such short notice?

Rick Hawn: Not really. I had already started training because I was expecting to fight on the 17th down in Rhode Island, so I was preparing for that fight anyway. Unfortunately, I had to cancel that fight due to my new obligations with Bellator.


James Ryan: Were those Promoters disappointed or upset with you for cancelling out?

Rick Hawn: I’m sure they were. I didn’t really speak with them though—my manager did, but I couldn’t really pass up the opportunity to fight for Bellator.


James Ryan: Well, in this business, everyone is trying to make it to that next level and make it big. I’m sure cancellations in the smaller organizations happen a lot, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

Rick Hawn: Yes, exactly.


James Ryan: When did you officially start training in mixed martial arts?

Rick Hawn: I first started training MMA in January of 2009.


James Ryan: So, fairly recently then.

Rick—I have to confess something. When I was first presented with the idea of interviewing you, I was very excited, obviously because you are a former Olympic athlete, and anyone who knows me, knows that I have mad respect for that.

But then I thought about what questions I was going to ask you and I convinced myself that I didn’t want to specifically ask you about your Olympic experiences because I just figured that maybe those were something that you’ve already been asked to death about, and I didn’t want to focus too much on your past instead of your future in MMA.

Rick Hawn: [Laughs] No worries. Ask me anything you want.


James Ryan: Well, I’m really glad that you feel that way because the more that I thought about it, the more I was starting to feel like maybe I was giving up on a once in a lifetime opportunity to talk to the real deal—an athlete who had actually been to the Olympics and is now fighting professionally in mixed martial arts.

I have always been very interested in the Olympics. What sticks out in your mind the most about the whole experience?

Rick Hawn: The coolest part about the Olympics that I went to was that it was the ‘04 Olympics, so it was back in Greece, which is where they all originated, of course. So just to be back there and to be able to sightsee and to be a tourist—to see the ruins of all of the places was just incredible. It was amazing. I don’t have any other words to describe it—it was just a great experience.

And being a part of the whole Olympic experience—you really can’t imagine how big it is until you’re there. It’s just incredible.


James Ryan: What was it like staying in the Olympic Village?

Rick Hawn: Basically, the Village was like they built an entire city just for the athletes while we were all there. I believe the Olympic Village Cafeteria alone could hold up to five or ten thousand people.


James Ryan: Wow, that’s massive. What about the competition part of it? Was it a pretty intense schedule? Did they have you going here and there, and all over the place?

Was it tough to prepare mentally?

Rick Hawn: Not really. The events were spread out over approximately three and a half weeks, and lucky for us the judo competition started on the first day—the day after opening ceremonies, which was kinda cool because then we got the chance to hang out for the whole time afterwards.

I felt kinda bad for some of the other sports that didn’t compete until the last week. They couldn’t really enjoy the whole experience as much I think because they had to stay so focused.

Before the opening ceremonies, we were running around a lot. We got there about a week early to get acclimated with training and all that, and everything was on a schedule. They took care of us, shipped us in buses, had lots of security at that time, but overall, it was crazy.


James Ryan: Sounds like an awesome experience?

What advice could you give to young kids with Olympic dreams?

Rick Hawn: Well, it’s tough in judo. I would tell them just to keep training hard, stay positive no matter what goes on in their lives, and basically that’s what it takes. Just hard work and staying positive, and being confident in your abilities.


James Ryan: Do you feel like you had to sacrifice a lot of your life in order to fulfill your Olympic dream? How tough was it to get to that stage?

Rick Hawn: It was definitely hard. You do have to sacrifice everything. After high school, I moved out to the Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs, and I was there for about eight years. Basically, all you do there is train. That’s your life. There’s no time for a social life, so you really miss out on that type of thing.

In that aspect, you’re sacrificing a lot. If you don’t make those types of sacrifices, then you might not make it.


James Ryan: Was there a real emphasis on education while you were out there training?

Rick Hawn: There was.

The way it works—you’re given a scholarship and the Olympic Training Centre is like a big city in itself. I basically lived in a dorm room for eight years with free room and board, and everything was paid for. My training—everything was on site right there. You wake up, go downstairs in the cafeteria and eat, and then go down another couple hundred yards and train. It’s pretty cool. Literally, anything that you need is there.


James Ryan: Wow, that’s wild. Thanks Rick. Much appreciated.

How did you get into judo?

Rick Hawn: My father used to train back when he was younger, before I was born, and he thought it was a great sport for kids to get into. When I was 12, I had the opportunity to do it, so he started me in my first judo class. He even got back into it himself after I started. He’s still doing it today, which is kinda cool.

All of my brothers and sisters trained in judo at one point in their life.


James Ryan: That’s cool—something for the whole family. So, how does your judo background help you now in MMA?

Rick Hawn: Well, it has definitely helped me a lot. Judo has gotten me to the point where I’m at now—there’s not that many people in MMA that actually practice judo, and if they have, it hasn’t really been up to the level that I have been doing it.

I’ve been doing judo a long time, so I definitely bring something to the MMA game that not a lot of people have seen. It has definitely helped me.


James Ryan: How much difference is there between judo and jiu-jitsu? Is there a pretty close relationship between the two?

Rick Hawn: You could say that. Definitely on the ground there are similarities. Judo is mostly standing—big throws, take downs, armbars, and chokes.


James Ryan: What form of striking are you currently training in?

Rick Hawn: Right now, I’m training in Muay Thai, but I’m also working on my boxing skills as well.


James Ryan: Do you feel that your stand-up is what really makes you stand out above the rest? What happened in your last fight against Shonie Carter?

Rick Hawn: I knocked him out in the second round with a head kick.

I’m not really known for doing that. [Laughs] Most people just think that I’m going to be the ‘grappling guy,’ but I’ve really been working hard on my striking to add balance. That way, I’m not so one dimensional.

Shonie was a really tough opponent for me, so it was a good win.


James Ryan: Another Judoka, Karo Parisyan, recently re-signed with the UFC. Are you guys friends at all?

Rick Hawn: We actually don’t like each other.


James Ryan: [Laughs] Really?

Rick Hawn: He read an article that I did a while back and the writer created a headline that said ‘Rick doesn’t like Karo,’ so he came back and said some things about me to a mutual friend. I don’t like him—he doesn’t like me, and maybe one day we’ll end up fighting each other, which would be interesting.

He’s really managed to build a name for himself in this sport, and I’m obviously trying to do the same thing as well, but I really don’t think that his background in judo is anywhere near the same as mine.

Athleticism wise—he’s not the most athletic kid, and from what I’ve heard, he doesn’t train very hard for MMA. And you can kinda see it in his fights. He’s not the most ‘fit’ person, but he’s definitely a good fighter—I’ll give him that.

My goal is to surpass what he has done in MMA, and I believe that I can with the right training and the right experience. Right now, he’s definitely the biggest judo name out there in MMA.


James Ryan: Well by the sounds of it, the two of you would make for an interesting match-up.

What can the fans expect from you, Rick? Why should they tune in to watch you fight?

Rick Hawn: Because my style is quite rare in the MMA community. Not a lot of fighters have my background, so that makes me unique, and even more so, just by having the background that I do have with the Olympics, I have been a professional athlete for a long time. I do things a little bit differently than the average fighter would.

I’m not saying that I’m any better or that I train any harder, but I definitely bring something different to the table that most people wouldn’t see in the average fighter.


James Ryan: Well, I certainly look forward to watching your next fight.

Any special thanks?

Rick Hawn: I have really good sponsors and a lot of good friends that have been sponsoring me as well. It’s all on my website. I’m obviously looking for more sponsors now that I’m going to be on television.

I would also like to give a special thanks to my manager, Jimmy Pedro. He’s the best American judo fighter that we’ve ever had compete in the Olympics.


James Ryan: Fantastic interview, Rick. Thank you very much and best of luck.

Rick Hawn: Thanks James.