MMA News: Vince McMahon's advice to Jack Swagger on his MMA debut
What's the story?
Jack Swagger is all set to make his MMA debut at Bellator 214 this coming Saturday in January 26th, 2019 and as expected, the former WWE Superstar is busy with all the routine promotional activities.
Swagger touched upon many topics during his open workout scrum and revealed the straightforward advice given to him by his former boss, Vince McMahon. The WWE Chairman kept it short and sweet by saying, "don't lose."
In case you didn't know...
Swagger enjoyed relative success in the WWE where he won the WWE World Heavyweight, ECW, United States titles along the Money in the Bank briefcase once respectively.
The collegiate All-American was an ace amateur wrestler during his time with the University of Oklahoma and also dabbled in football before jumping into the glitzy world of pro wrestling.
Despite not having a sustained time at the top of the card, Swagger made a decent name for himself as a mid-card talent and eventually left the WWE in March 2017.
He wrestled for a few independent promotions and also worked for Lucha Underground before dedicating the next chapter of his life to the gruelling sport of MMA. Swagger has been training rigorously for 18 months now and just can't wait to finally enter the cage for the very first time at the age of 36.
The heart of the matter
Swagger, real name Jacob Hager, already feels like a winner even before the fight as he feels that the challenging preparations have made him physically and mentally stronger.
For him, fighting this Saturday would only be the icing on the cake and that he would cherish the moment forever. He is not deterred by his detractors who may not be happy to know the money he stands to gain from his MMA debut.
He did add, however, that the pro wrestling community is firmly behind him in his new adventure by saying, "A lot of pro wrestlers don't get the best receptions. What's not to love. It's been a very positive reception. I feel like my background definitely has helped. As far as pro wrestlers, everybody from Vince McMahon to Rey Mysterio to Roman Reigns...I feel like I'm a pro fighter so to have that pro wrestling family stand by me and support me has been really, really special."
When further probed about the advice handed to him by Vince McMahon, Swagger said that the WWE head honcho just told him not to lose.
We're sure Vince McMahon may have given the same advice to Brock Lesnar and CM Punk too but we're not too sold on the latter though.
What's next?
We can only hope that Swagger fares better than CM Punk and wins his first pro MMA fight which is scheduled to take place against J.W. Kiser.
Will Swagger follow in Brock Lesnar's footsteps and do good as a heavyweight mixed martial artist? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.