Jake Hager, better known to wrestling fans at Jack Swagger, made it look easy on Saturday night at Bellator 214, submitting JW Kiser in the first round with an arm triangle.
Hager wasted no time using his wrestling background, taking Kiser down almost immediately. From there, Hager worked his way into an arm triangle to secure the tap at 2:09. Here's the full recap from Fightful's live coverage.
The round begins with Hager putting Kiser against the cage wall after eating a few strikes, Hager scores a takedown on Kiser and he gets the half guard. Hager goes for a kimura before attacking Kiser with ground and pound, Hager catches Kiser in an arm triangle choke and a tap out follows.
Hager wins via submission #Bellator214 pic.twitter.com/EbbYhhZKW1
— Daniel (@Daniel_Alba15) January 27, 2019
Hager was accompanied to the cage by WWE superstar R-Truth and had elements of his WWE gimmick in his entrance.
"WE THE PEOPLE" @RealJackSwagger#Bellator214 pic.twitter.com/esVLScLLYq
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) January 27, 2019
WWE would also go on to congratulate Hager on his win.
Congratulations to @RealJackSwagger on his successful @BellatorMMA debut! #Bellator214 https://t.co/agpQHNzLql
— WWE (@WWE) January 27, 2019
After the bout, Hager said you'll be seeing "a lot more" of him inside the Bellator cage. Hager is now 1-0 in his MMA career.
