Tomorrow night (Sat. January 26, 2019) former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger will make his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut. Swagger (real name Jake Hager) will be competing in Bellator MMA’s heavyweight division. On the main card of Bellator 214 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, Hager will fight J.W. Kiser.
Swagger is making a flat fee of $50,000 for the contest. Recently, Swagger did an interview with MMA media to promote his fight. During the scrum, he was asked about fellow professional wrestlers like Brock Lesnar and CM Punk who have left WWE for MMA careers. Swagger offered some brief criticism towards Lesnar and Swagger, saying they don’t like to get punched in the face:
“I’m very lucky that it’s 2019 and I don’t have to have video cassettes of all the promotions to get this,” Swagger said. “I can just go on YouTube, and see the footage, and get the film, and have the research, and get better. The main thing I take away from it is, you can’t be afraid to get punched in the face at camp.
“You see that with Brock, you see that with Punk, they didn’t want to get punched in the face. I needed it, I needed to learn how to react to it and see how my body is gonna have the instincts to react in that moment. That’s the main things I took from it, and at the same time, those other guys, they shied away from their pro wrestling background, where, I’m embracing it. This is who I am and, dude, I love it, ya know? What’s not to like?”
Punk responded to Swagger’s comments on Twitter, and said he’s rooting for his former fellow WWE star:
“You shouldn’t either. Good skill this weekend, pulling for you.”
You shouldn’t either. Good skill this weekend, pulling for you. https://t.co/QKjgbRKYd2
— Coach (@CMPunk) January 25, 2019
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions
