Bellator 214: Fedor vs. Bader - Predictions and Picks

#3 Jake Hager vs. JW Kiser

Can former WWE superstar Jake Hager succeed in MMA?

Formerly known as WWE superstar Jack Swagger – who held the World Heavyweight title there in 2010 – Jake Hager will be making his MMA debut here, becoming the latest crossover from the world of pro-wrestling. The last man to do that on this big of a stage was CM Punk, and of course, everyone knows that went horribly – he was embarrassed in his 2 UFC fights against pretty low-level opposition.

Hager might be different though in that, unlike Punk, he’s bringing a genuine wrestling background with him into Bellator’s cage. Like former UFC Heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, Hager is a former NCAA Division I wrestler out of the University of Oklahoma, meaning he’ll automatically hold a massive advantage over most of the low-level Heavyweights he’s likely to face early on.

Kiser has to be included on that list. Bellator has Kiser’s record as 1-1; Sherdog has it at 0-1, but either way he’s clearly not a top-level fighter, and this is his Bellator debut too. Sure, Hager could get caught by a big shot and find himself knocked out – this is MMA after all – but the likelihood of the former WWE man being thoroughly owned like Punk was by Mickey Gall seems low.

Ignoring Hager’s WWE background – which could be worrying in the future given the damage his body has already gone through – his wrestling should be enough to pull him through here against an opponent the level of Kiser. At 36 I doubt he can develop into a genuine title contender – time isn’t on his side – but he could surprise me yet. I think he wins comfortably via ground-and-pound here.

The Pick: Hager via first round TKO