Former WWE star Jake Hager’s second pro fight will be against T.J. Jones

By Dave Meltzer

MMAfighting.com

Former WWE and Lucha Underground champion Jake Hager’s second pro fight will be against heavyweight T.J. Jones (1-1) on May 11 at Bellator 221 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.

Hager, a former University of Oklahoma heavyweight All-American who used the name Jack Swagger in WWE and Jake Strong in Lucha Underground, is coming off a quick submission win over J.W. Kiser in his debut on Jan. 26 at the Forum in Los Angeles.

Jones, who will turn 29 before the fight, is eight years younger than Hager, who turns 37 next month. Jones, a Missouri-based fighter, will also have a weight edge, having fought at 265 in his last fight, a 59 second submission win over Erick Braly on Oct. 28, 2017. Hager was 238 pounds in his debut fight. Jones’ first pro fight was a 46 second loss to Derek Bohl on March 14, 2015.

Hager vs. Jones will be one of the key undercard fights on a show headlined by lightweight champion Michael Chandler facing featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. The show also includes a welterweight Grand Prix second round fight with Michael “Venom” Page facing Douglas Lima. The show will be a DAZN exclusive.

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