Jake Hager, formerly known as WWE superstar “Jack Swagger”, won his professional MMA debut on Saturday night inside The Forum in Inglewood, California at Bellator 214.
Hager defeated J.W. Kiser in quick fashion as the fight never saw the end of the first round. Hager quickly took the fight to the ground, and after landing some big elbows and ground-and-pound, he secured an arm-triangle that forced Kiser to tap.
It was an electric factory inside The Forum once the music hit and “WE, THE PEOPLE!” rang throughout the arena. Soon thereafter, another WWE superstar, “R-Truth” came out and performed the walkout song. It was a nice nod to the pro wrestling world, a passing of the torch from one sport to the other, if you will.
Hager of course isn’t the first man to make the transition from pro wrestling to MMA. Most recently CM Punk made the jump from WWE to the UFC, where he has been unsuccessful in both of his bouts. Bobby Lashley, as well as Batista have also competed in both worlds before.
Luckily for Jake Hager, Bellator’s heavyweight division is one that is wide open. Ryan Bader has just become Bellator heavyweight champion, defeating Fedor Emelianenko with just one punch in the first round of the final of the heavyweight grand prix. Aside newly crowned champ Bader, quite frankly the division is filled with old veterans who can’t step away from the sport. Of course, I’m not saying that Jake Hager will compete for the heavyweight title come 2019, but anything is possible.
It will be interesting to see what is next for Hager. He took zero damage so realistically he could come back as soon as he’d like. You’d also have to think that we would see a step up in competition for his next bout as well. I mean no disrespect to J.W. Kiser, but it looked like the fight was no challenge for Hager. I for one would love to see the matchup of WWE superstars. Bobby Lashley has fought for Bellator in the past and has looked pretty decent as well, compiling a 15-2 record as a professional. If anyone would be game enough to put a spectacle like this on, it’s Scott Coker.
