I’m going to hell for that cover image.
Former WWE champ turned Bellator MMA fighter Jake Hager is 2-0 since his transition from the squared circle to the cage. His opponents so far have been subpar to say the least. Don’t believe us?
Read on.
Both fighters don’t have Wikipedia entries and records that were in the red when he fought them. His first win was over 1-2 JW Kiser and the second came over beef plant worker 1-1 TJ Jones.
To put that in perspective…
Hager was a NCAA division 1 two sport athlete competing in both football and wrestling. He set the pin record for a single season at 30 and was named an All-American for his efforts. He wasn’t CM Punk who made the jump with no credentials ready to be smashed. This is a guy who is probably capable of grappling with the best of fighters in Bellator. I will put a caveat in there and acknowledge that he is 37 years of age making injury recovery a little more difficult and longer.
Still…
We expected a jump in competition for him but it looks like more of the same. His opponent for Bellator 231 on October 25th is 4-2 Anthony Garrett who competed solely in the ShamrockFC organization going 4-2. That might seem like a tough pairing for Jake until you look closer. Only ONE fighter he faced has an even record of 7-7 while all of the others are badly lopsided in the loss column. In fact his last fight ended with him counting the lights courtesy of 7-12 Jordan Mitchell.
So yeah. Can.
Fans including us are wanting him to fight real competition already. Come on Scott Coker…