As one of MMA’s most battle-tested fighters with a professional record of 19-2, Bellator welterweight Dan Hornbuckle came into the 170 lbs. tournament as an early favorite. Aiming to validate the high expectations, Hornbuckle cruised through the first two rounds of the tournament with a pair of early submissions, which earned him the right to fight Olympic wrestler Ben Askren (6-0) in the Bellator Welterweight Finals.

In front of a packed house at the Kansas City Power & Light District in Kansas City, MO, Hornbuckle stepped into the ring against 2008 Olympian and crowd favorite Ben Askren, who won two NCAA wrestling titles at the nearby University of Missouri. Askren controlled the fight from the beginning with his Olympic-caliber wrestling takedowns and aggressive grappling, which disrupted Hornbuckle’s strategy, leaving him unable to keep the fight standing up where Askren would have been less of a threat. There were a few hopeful moments for Hornbuckle as he attempted a triangle choke mid-way through Round 2 and a kimura mid-way through Round 3, but Askren was able to escape both submissions and earned a victory via unanimous decision.

Although falling short of his ultimate goal, Hornbuckle proved in Bellator Season 2 that he is a world-class MMA fighter to be watched.

Earlier in the Bellator Welterweight Tournament, Hornbuckle made quick work of open-tryout winner Tyler Stinson with a tight triangle choke just 2:03 into the first round in the opening round fight in Bellator Season 2. The dominant performance earned Hornbuckle a semifinal bout with Iraq War veteran and MMA powerhouse Steve Carl.

Just seconds into that fight, Carl decided to take Hornbuckle to the ground, but Hornbuckle stayed busy on his back with a defensive guard, eventually securing Carl's wrist and wrenching his arm upward into a textbook Kimura.  Proving his tenacity, Carl held on for a few painstaking seconds before he was forced to tap just 2:31 into Round 1.  Hornbuckle's semifinal bout lasted only 28 seconds longer than his quarterfinal fight with Stinson.

A versatile and well-rounded four-year veteran of MMA, Hornbuckle has been victorious against highly trained opponents with countless variations of training and has earned a reputation for being one of the toughest fighters in the sport.

Hornbuckle has deep roots to the Cherokee Nation. He trains with American Top Team.