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What's the story?
Jack Swagger, real name Jack Hagger, is busy preparing for his upcoming MMA debut and attended a media call to hype up the same.
During the call, the former WWE Superstar was asked about being compared to Brock Lesnar, who is considered to be the only pro wrestler to have made a successful transition from the squared circle to the Octagon.
In case you didn't know...
No one has come close to replicating the Beast Incarnate's exploits in MMA. The current WWE Universal Champion has a respectable record of five wins, three losses and one no contest. The record, though, doesn't paint the complete picture as Lesnar brought in a mainstream appeal to MMA and introduced UFC to a wider audience.
He won the UFC Heavyweight title and notched up notable wins against the likes of Randy Couture, Frank Mir, and Shane Carwin before being destroyed by Cain Valesquez and Alistair Overeem.
His time inside the Octagon wasn't short of controversies either as his unanimous decision win against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 was overturned to a no contest after he tested positive for Clomiphene. As things stand, Lesnar has completed his suspension and is eligible to return to MMA competition.
However, it may be some time before we see that happen as Lesnar is tied up with his WWE commitments. Swagger, though, would get a taste of what Lesnar went through as he is slated to make his MMA debut at Bellator 214. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion parted ways with the WWE in March 2017 and after dabbling in indies for a brief period, announced his excursion into the brutal world of MMA.
The heart of the matter
Being a heavyweight himself, Swagger can't steer clear of the comparisons with Lesnar. Swagger responded to the comparative factors and was quick to first praise the accomplishments of Lesnar in the UFC.
“We both have big teeth and no necks. What Brock did was incredible. He raised the bar to new heights, to something a lot of people didn’t think would ever happen, " Swagger said.
He credited Lesnar for making the crossover from the field of entertainment to the highly physical sport of MMA seem credible and believable, something which CM Punk most recently failed to do. He said that MMA is the toughest sport in the world bar none and added that mixed martial arts training is more challenging than the pro wrestling routines.
He then went on to breakdown the comparison between him and Lesnar and admitted that the 4-time WWE Champion may have an edge over him when it comes to wrestling. However, Swagger claimed his hands are much better than Lesnar's.
Swagger opined, "MMA training is way hard than wrestling and it has proven that over the last year and a half. But if I could make some comparison to me and Brock, I’d say very similar wrestling, though he might have the edge on that, but I think my hands are better.”
What's next?
Swagger will take on J.W. Kiser at The Forum in California on January 26th at Bellator 214. As for Lesnar, the Beast Incarnate will put his Universal Championship on the line against Finn Balor at Royal Rumble on Sunday, January 27th, 2019.
