UPDATED: After Jon Jones’ announcement of the grappling match with Jake Hager, the Bellator and AEW performer responded by stating there was no deal in place as of yet:
First of all it’s @AEWonTNT and undefeated @BellatorMMA heavyweight Jake Hager, secondly no terms have been discussed or contract signed. We can talk if terms are right. https://t.co/6ScRt0gNmj
— Jake Hager (@RealJakeHager) November 20, 2021
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has announced he will be taking part in a grappling match against Bellator fighter and AEW wrestler Jake Hager for FURY Professional Grappling.
Breaking News!! I’m excited to announce I’ll be competing for the number one grappling organization in the world, Fury Grappling! December 9th I’ll be in New Jersey competing against WWE superstar and undefeated Bellator heavyweight Jack swagger
— BONY (@JonnyBones) November 20, 2021
Jones made the announcement Saturday afternoon with MMA Junkie confirming with an official at FURY that the match-up is in the works for their December 9th event in New Jersey.
Jones has not competed in an MMA fight since his split decision win against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020. Since that fight, Jones has vacated the 205-pound championship with the fighter planning to move up to heavyweight.
The former champion was arrested in September while in Las Vegas for the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony and facing charges of domestic battery and tampering with a vehicle. The incident led to coach Mike Winkeljohn informing Jones he would not be welcome at the Jackson-Wink MMA Gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico until he sorts out his personal issues.
Hager, 39, has four professional MMA fights with Bellator and a record of 3-0 with one no-contest. He last fought in October 2020 where he earned a split decision win against Brandon Calton.
He is a member of The Inner Circle group on AEW programming and last performed at the Full Gear pay-per-view in a Minneapolis Street Fight that included MMA fighters Junior dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski.
The FURY Professional Grappling group has not officially announced the match yet.
