Jack Swagger (Jake Hager) will make his highly-anticipated Bellator MMA debut on January 26th against JW Kiser.
The former WWE Superstar signed with Bellator on November 13, 2017; he announced the fight moments ago on the Ariel Helwani Show stream. The fight is part of Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Finals event at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. Kiser has a professional fighting record of 1-1, and an amateur record of 10-8.
When asked about if he could balance pro wrestling and mixed martial arts, Swagger didn’t directly address the question, but said ‘one hand helps the other’, and said he had pro wrestling bookings in 2019, and hopes to have more fights next year too. Swagger spoke about his training progress, why he’s fighting and much more, including saying he’s fighting with nothing to prove, and that it’s just for him and his family. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion also said he’s talked with Bobby Lashley and King Mo about transitioning into the MMA world.
Additionally, when Helwani asked about if he’d be billed as Jake Hager, Swagger said that’s the case “until other filings happen”, leading to speculation he might try and fight using his former wrestling name. When pressed for a clarification, Hager joked that he was going through a tunnel and plead the fifth about what he’ll be called when he makes his debut in the cage.
Jake Hager / "Jack Swagger" tells @arielhelwani he will be fighting January 26th on the Heavyweight Grand Prix Finals event at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. He will be taking on JW Kizer.https://t.co/oh11yz7lR6
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) December 3, 2018
