Bellator President Scott Coker Praises Jake Hager’s Performance At Bellator 250, Says He Deserves A Lot Of Respect

AEW star Jake Hager emerged victorious in his fight with Brandon Carlton at last night’s Bellator 250 event, with Hager picking up the win via split decision after the bout went the distance.

Bellator President Scott Coker would later praise Hager’s performance in an interview with MMA Junkie, stating that the former WWE world champion doesn’t need to be fighting and deserves respect from the MMA world.

I was actually impressed and I’ll tell you why: He doesn’t need to do this. Jake Hager does not need to be an MMA fighter fighting in the cage. This is something he wants to do. He’s still relatively young in his career, right? Because he’s only had, what? Two or three fights? Something like that. To me, I’d give him a lot of respect. He was in a fight tonight. He had to get that dog out in him and finish this fight and keep fighting because he was caught. I was really impressed. I would give him a good report card for his effort and his performance. I would say to people, ‘Don’t be so tough.’ This guy is just a beginner. He’s only had a few fights.

Hager is not currently scheduled for a match at AEW’s Full Gear pay per view, but he could potentially accompany Inner Circle leader Chris Jericho for his bout against MJF.