Jake Hager was regarded by some as Bellator's answer to the UFC's Brock Lesnar experiment. However, while 'The Beast' achieved the peak of success in the UFC by capturing heavyweight gold and becoming the promotion's biggest pay-per-view draw at the time, Jack Hager accomplished little by comparison.
A former WWE and current AEW pro-wrestler, Hager is also an accomplished amateur wrestler, having been a collegiate All-American and recording the most pins in a single season in the University of Oklahoma's 285-pound category. His wrestling skill-set served as the foundation for his short-stint in MMA.
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He signed with Bellator in 2017 and went on an unbeaten run of three wins and one no-contest. However, Hager hasn't fought since 2020 and recently announced his retirement from the sport, blaming Bellator for mismanaging his career, saying (at 1:27:29 minutes) as much on a K&S Wrestlefest autograph signing:
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"Officially, I'm retired from MMA. I trained hard last year, but Bellator was jerking me off, so I retired and I'm just focusing on wrestling now."
While Jake Hager didn't elaborate on what exactly he meant, it appears that his relationship with Bellator has deteriorated tremendously. Despite once expressing a desire to retire heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko, the former WWE star never quite reached the heights expected of him.
He marks one of several pro-wrestlers who journeyed into MMA but didn't achieve much, such as Dave Bautista and Bobby Lashley. While most fighters struggle to stay retired when it comes to MMA, Hager is 41 and in the twilight of his athletic years.
With pro wrestling in his back pocket as a guaranteed source of income, it is unlikely that he will re-commit to MMA with any serious aspirations.
Who has Jake Hager beaten in MMA?
Despite his amateur wrestling background, Jake Hager was relatively green when it came to MMA, making his debut in his late 30s. Given his age and inexperience, he wasn't immediately thrown to the sharks. Instead, he was paired up with inexperienced and overmatched opponents.
His first foe, J.W. Kiser, was 1-2 when they fought. His second opponent, T.J. Jones, was 1-1. Anthony Garrett, however, was slightly better, with a 4-2 record at the time. His final opponent, Brandon Calton, was easily his most difficult. He was 2-0 and forced Hager into a split-decision.
