Bellator will try to attract a pro wrestling audience to their heavyweight grand prix final card.
Jake Hager, better known as Jack Swagger to pro wrestling fans, finally has an MMA debut date. The 36-year-old former NCAA wrestling All-American will fight JW Kiser on the undercard of of Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix final event on January 29th.
Hager signed with Bellator over a year ago, and has been training in MMA for his debut since then while still dabbling in pro wrestling. The 6’7, 275-pounder also played football at Oklahoma while setting a school record for wrestling pins in his senior year. He was recruited out of college by WWE, and worked for the company for a decade before leaving in early 2017.
His opponent Kiser has a similar level of experience, with an 0-1 pro record. He’s also 41 years old.
The January 29th card will be headlined by the Grand Prix final between legend Fedor Emelianenko and Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader. Gegard Mousasi will also defeand his middleweight title against Rafael Lovato Jr. It’ll go down in The Forum in Inglewood, CA.