Bellator continued to announce fights for its early 2019 events, and I’ll give my thoughts on these new matchups in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Jake Hager vs. JW Kiser, Bellator 214
Former WWE superstar Jake “Jack Swagger” Hager” will make his MMA debut against JW Kiser at Bellator 214, which takes place January 26 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Hager (0-0) signed with Bellator in 2017 after a long career as a successful professional wrestler. He was an amateur wrestler in college and could be an intriguing addition to Bellator’s heavyweight division even at the ripe old age of 36. Of course, it’s hard to see him improving his striking that much at an old age, but there’s no doubt his wrestling is going to be solid. Kiser (0-1) made his professional MMA debut earlier this year at age 41 and lost via TKO. He has some amateur MMA experience but as a pro he’s very green and obviously very old for a newcomer to the sport. Kiser might have more cage time but Bellator clearly is bringing in here to lose to Hager. If Hager can get the takedowns this should be an easy fight for him. Even though he doesn’t have any MMA experience yet, I’d still peg him as a sizeable favorite due to his name and hype.
Patricky Pitbull vs. Ryan Scope, Bellator Newcastle
One of Bellator’s top lightweights returns to the cage as Patricky Pitbull takes on Ryan Scope at a Bellator event in Newcastle, England on February 9 at Metro Radio Arena. Pitbull (20-8) is 13-7 overall in Bellator and is coming off of four straight wins including a KO over Roger Huerta in his last outing. He also had wins over UFC vets Josh Thomson and Benson Henderson in that stretch. Scope (10-1) is a solid prosepct out of England and in his last bout picked up a split decision win over UFC vet Mickael Lebout in BAMMA. Having said that, there’s no doubt Pitbull is a massive step up in competition, and this is kind of strange matchmaking on Bellator’s part. I’d expect Pitbull to be a monster favorite heading into this bout.
James Gallagher vs. Steven Graham, Bellator Dublin
Top featherweight prospect James Gallagher will return to the cage when he takes on Steven Graham at a Bellator event in Dublin, Ireland on Febuary 23 at 3Arena. Gallagher (7-1) was Bellator’s hottest featherweight prospect before getting knocked out by a head kick courtesy of Ricky Bandejas in his last outing. He wanted a rematch badly but Bellator rightly didn’t grant him one, instead making him rebuild his stock against Graham, who is a lesser fighter. Graham (6-3) has won five straight fights on the midwest regional circuit to get his crack at fighting in a big promotion like Bellator, but his level of competition has been very weak. You’d think Bellator would give Gallagher a winnable fight to bounce back from after the Bandejas loss, and this looks like that fight. I’d expect Gallagher to be a huge favorite in this fight considering his reputation.
