3 reasons why Jack Swagger will win his MMA debut at Bellator 214
Despite their many differences, MMA and pro-wrestling have plenty in common – and so it’s unsurprising that there have been plenty of crossover superstars from both sports over the years. Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion and Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey, for instance, is currently a huge star in the world of WWE.
Equally, there have been plenty of WWE superstars who have made their way into the world of MMA. These crossovers have seen largely mixed results. Brock Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight title, while CM Punk ended up losing two fights in hugely disappointing fashion. Bobby Lashley did well enough for himself, while Dave Batista fought once for a smaller promotion before transitioning into acting.
This Saturday sees the latest crossover, as former WWE World Heavyweight champion Jack Swagger – real name Jake Hager – makes his MMA debut at Bellator 214, which will be broadcast on the Paramount Network and on DAZN. So will Hager turn out to be a Brock Lesnar, or a CM Punk? We’ll soon find out, but I’m betting he’ll win this debut fight at least. Here are 3 reasons why.
#1 He comes from a legitimate wrestling background
The major difference between CM Punk and Brock Lesnar that led directly to their results in MMA was the fact that while both had seen huge success in pro-wrestling, only one of them – Lesnar – had a background in a genuine combat sport. Some old school martial artists would scoff at the idea of amateur wrestling being considered a combat sport, but over the past 25 years, MMA has proven that idea thoroughly wrong.
Essentially, amateur wrestling is the best background that any prospective MMA fighter can have. A great wrestler can essentially dictate where a fight takes place – either using the takedowns learned from wrestling or by using ‘wrestling in reverse’, preventing an opponent from taking them down in the first place. It’d literally take all day to list the great wrestlers who have transitioned into MMA and then become great fighters.
And simply put, Jake Hager is a great wrestler. Sure, he didn’t win an NCAA Division I championship like Lesnar did, but he was an NCAA Division I contender wrestling out of the University of Oklahoma, and he placed 7th in 2006, an impressive feat by anyone’s standards. And right now, as a Heavyweight in Bellator, there aren’t many fighters that can match that wrestling background.
Given the current Unified Rules of MMA that value takedowns and ground control so heavily, it’s quite possible that even if he isn’t a fully rounded fighter with excellent strikes and submissions, Hager could simply take his opponents down and hold them there to win a decision. And on Saturday, against an opponent in JW Kiser with seemingly no wrestling background, he shouldn’t have any problems with using his wrestling to pick up a debut win.