(Photo by Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)
Following his loss to lightweight champion Mike Chandler last Thursday at Bellator 85, Rick Hawn said late Monday that a sponsor decided not to pay him because the fighter lost his last fight.
Hawn went to Twitter to expose a message from an unnamed sponsor, which said the exposure would only hold weight if the fighter won or performed well.
“At this point, a stop payment has been placed on check which cannot be cashed or deposited now,” Hawn posted, quoting the sponsor. “I will not comment on Rick and his fight. That is not my place. But what I will tell you is this: I took a huge chance with him. TV exposure was great…but it only holds weight if he wins or puts on a good show. Neither happened. At the end of the day…not one sole (sp) will run to [my] store and buy product because they [saw my logo and saw] Rick loose (sp) the fight. I’ve made it my career and business to know what nets a return on investment for the brand…and this is the number 1 reason why I DO NOT hand out money or product to fighters.”
According the lightweight, the sponsor is still placing images of him wearing the brand on their website.
Hawn added that a lawsuit is pending, and that more information will be revealed some time soon.
At Bellator 85, Hawn lost by rear-naked choke to the champion Chandler in the second round. The loss was second of his career out of 16 outings.
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