Beef Plant Worker Ready For Hager At Bellator 221

On Saturday night in Chicago, former WWE star Jake Hager returns to the Bellator cage. In his debut, the former Jack Swagger stopped journeyman fighter JW Kiser in the first round.

Now, Hager returns to face another fighter who has initials for a first name, T.J. Jones at Bellator 221 on DAZN.

Hager-Jones’ stare down photo went viral on Thursday, as Hager in a suit and Jones looking more like a fan than a fighter stood in front of Bellator President Scott Coker.

C’mon Bellator pic.twitter.com/slq4ByFNJ6

— Jesse Holland (@JesseHollandMMA) May 9, 2019

Jones, who has had two professional fights and three cancelled pro fights over the course of four years, is excited for the opportunity.

“It’s probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life,” Jones told reporters following Thursday’s press conference.

“You’ve got nothing but world-class champions up here, and then you’ve got Jake. So it’s very cool to be up here with these guys.”

While Jones may have technically more experience than the 1-0 Hager, the former WWE/ECW champion walks into the cage not only with pro wrestling experience, but was a Division-1 All American wrestler while at the University of Oklahoma.

Conversely, when Jones is not training, he is working at a beef plant in his native Springfield, Missouri.

And if Jones is unable to pull the upset against Hager, Jones will be glad to take his moment in the sun with him back to Springfield.

“If I lose, I just go back to the beef plant,” he said.

While Jones’ hopes are similar to another “average Joe” Springfield citizen’s chances against a world-class athlete, it is highly unlikely his team will pull a “Moe Szyslak” and pull Jones out of the cage.

For the full Bellator 221 Card from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, look below.

Main card (DAZN at 9 p.m. ET)

Michael Chandler vs. Patricio Freire

Douglas Lima vs. Michael “Venom” Page

A.J. McKee vs. Pat Curran

Jake Hager vs. T.J. Jones

Tywan Claxton vs. James Bennett

Undercard (FIGHT SPORTS at 6:30 p.m. ET)

Adil Benjilany vs. Cris Lencioni

Chris Gonzalez vs. Charlie Radtke

Bryan Bautista vs. Rob Finical

Adam Ward vs. Amartuvshin Khuukhenkhuu

Jose Leon vs. Christian Rodriguez

Askar Askar vs. Taylor Moore

James Bochnovic vs. Robert Morrow

Dave Latoria vs. Jason Belyew

Joey Diehl vs. Jesse Bazzi

Scott Writz vs. Josh Streacker