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Jack Swagger, real name Jake Hager, kicked off his MMA career in perfect style as he defeated J.W. Kiser via an arm triangle choke at 2:09 in the first round at Bellator 214.
The former WWE Superstar was accompanied to the cage by former WWE colleague R-Truth, who rapped over Swagger's entrance theme song. In case you didn't know, Swagger has been training for his MMA debut ever since he quit WWE back in March 2017.
The former All-American collegiate amateur wrestler has been training in Dave Batista's Ybor city Jiu Jitsu club for over 18 months and all the hard work did indeed payoff as Swagger made quick work of the 41-year-old Kiser.
Kiser came into the fight with a record of 1-1 and looked to use his power to knockout the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion with a killer punch. Swagger, though, dictated the fight as he took Kiser down with ease and began asserting himself on the ground.
He first attempted a Kimura but Kiser somehow worked his way out of a precarious position. Swagger's 6'6'' frame was used to good effect as he pinned down the American with some vicious elbows. Swagger then locked in the arm triangle choke from half guard and forced a tap out of Kiser, who had no answer to the elite grappling of the former WWE United States Champion.
In his post-fight interview, addressed Vince McMahon's advice to him prior to the fight and also sent out a clever message to his former boss from WWE. Swagger stated that he intends on making Bellator his home and would stick around doing MMA for at least another decade. It was a great moment not just for Swagger but also for his friends from the WWE, who took to Twitter to congratulate Swagger on successfully beginning his MMA endeavour.
We have put together the best reactions from the pro wrestling world:
