CHICAGO (April 12, 2010) - Tyler Stinson, the 24-year-old winner of Bellator Fighting Championships’ Kansas City tryout has been added to Bellator’s eight-man welterweight tournament, replacing Sean Pierson, who was forced to withdraw because of a serious knee injury suffered in training.

Stinson (16-5) will face knockout artist Dan “The Handler” Hornbuckle (19-2) in a first round bout at Bellator 15 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., on April 22.

“I feel really badly for Sean. He’s a great guy and this was a tremendous opportunity for him that he was totally focused on. Hopefully, when he rehabs his knee, we can get him back fighting at Bellator. At the same time, I’m happy that we can provide this chance to Tyler and that he was ready to step up and take advantage of this great shot,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

“Tyler caught our eye at our open tryout. He’s hungry and he can fight, which could make for a very interesting fight with Dan.”

Stinson was originally scheduled to participate in a Local Feature Fight against Demi Deeds at Bellator’s April 29th event at the Kansas City Power & Light District. A replacement for Stinson in that fight will be announced soon.

For more information, please visit Bellator.com.