TJ Jones won over the hearts of fans with his Bellator performance against Jake Hager AKA Jack Swagger. Jones seemed like an earnest guy who came in from a humble background and he gained a measure of sympathy from fans when Hager held on to the fight ending submission for way too long.

He’s looking to keep the train rolling as Jones competes again later this month. TJ is looking to collect some regional gold on July 20 when Garden Fights puts on a card. It’s been a wild ride for Tombstone in the last few months, for sure.

The Bellator pre-fight saga

Jones started to pick up infamy in MMA circles ahead of his Jake Hager bout. MMA fans initially thought TJ was one of them. In a widely spread meme, someone mentioned how TJ Jones looked like a fan when compared to some of his Bellator compatriots at that press conference. The beef plant worker quickly endeared himself to fans as they got to know more of his personality though.

When TJ came out dancing his heart out with “Old Town Road” blaring over the arena PA, he solidified his status among fans watching Bellator 221. Despite losing via arm triangle choke in the first round, TJ’s demeanor and spirited performance shone through. TJ Jones certainly noticed the shift in the wider scale public sentiment.

“I appreciate it so much. I’m definitely not taking anything for granted…..It definitely isn’t an act, man”

Post-Bellator 221

TJ Jones has been competing in various combat sports for over a decade and is finally breaking through in terms of public awareness. The metrics on his social media platforms are certainly indicative of that. All of a sudden chopping it up with guys like Chael Sonnen and Douglas Lima at the Bellator 221 after-party. Prolific martial artists who treated him with kindness and took the time to impart some wisdom too.

Jones has been working a lot of BJJ as of late. On the heels of his submission loss to Hager, Jones is working with Keith Welsh a fair bit on his grappling skills. Heading into the Jake Hager bout, there were interview clips (via Cageside Press) where Tombstone indicated he much preferred the stand up to submission grappling. The nature of his last loss has changed that sentiment and TJ has been hard at work to level up his BJJ and wrestling.

“I’ve been working with Joseph and Ramone. Sarah, Gloria, Eduardo…We’ll be continuing to work with the Jiu Jitsu, wrestling, and striking…If I can keep a fight standing, that’s ultimately what I want to do……but we have to work on everything and the bellator fight was an eye opener for that”

TJ Jones is happy with where he’s at, to a degree, but the goal is to get back to Bellator.

“My sole focus is getting back to Bellator. We’re listening to offers but we’re taking it one fight at a time now.”

There’s also some bolstering public sentiment around TJ Jones fighting JW Kiser. Kiser has called out Jones on social media and fans see it as logical matchmaking since both men were defeated by Jake Hager. They also seem to bring styles to the cage that could lend itself to being entertaining even beyond the narrative elements. All that being said, Jones has his sights firmly locked on the future.

The (Old Town) Road Ahead

Jones is an ambitious guy, though, and has been getting involved in endeavors beyond his own fighting efforts. Tombstone Management Clique is another endeavor that TJ has been getting going. TJ Jones has been using his recently growing profile to help out others. Tombstone is aiming to get fights for some up and coming pugilists.

TJ has even lined up some of his fighters for Shamrock FC bouts. Which is a promotion that has been a proven feeder league for Bellator. Jones hasn’t sustained many injuries so he’s been able to stay active and compete for multiple different promoters. This created a good networking rapport and is translating in good opportunities for his fighters.

Garden City, Jack Swagger, and Big Country

TJ isn’t overlooking his opponent on July 20 but he has fighters he would like to get in there with. Tombstone indicated interest in a Jake Hager rematch but he also wants to fight Roy Nelson. TJ verbalized that a commission probably wouldn’t sanction the fight with Nelson due to the disparity in experience. Jones isn’t afraid to shoot for the stars though and respectfully indicated a desire to get in the cage with Big Country.

“Roy Nelson is a legend. I don’t know how that would come about but I would definitely not say no… A Roy Nelson fight is on my mind. Anybody in Bellator is on my mind.”

For now, though, TJ has a few simple priorities. TJ has family, gym, and money on his mind in that order. TJ is looking forward to a lot of quality time with his family through the summer months. That being said, Jones also has his gaze firmly affixed on the Southwest Kansas Heavyweight Championship later this month.

This story is an ongoing one worthy of following. The epitaph has yet to be fully carved out on Tombstone.

The post TJ Jones on His Bellator Journey and Next Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Chicago, IL — In a rather bizarre turn of events, TJ Jones went from unknown, to internet famous (at least in the MMA world) seemingly overnight on Saturday. And despite losing the battle against Jack Swagger (or Jake Hager, if you prefer not to use the ex-WWE star’s ring name), he might have won the war. Or at least, extended his fifteen minutes of fame.

Jones, now 1-2 as a professional MMA fighter, was the unlikely opponent brought in to face Swagger/Hager in the latter’s sophomore bout at Bellator 221 in Chicago on Saturday. Jones didn’t have a chance to show much offense, ending up taken down and eventually submitted. But he danced to the ring, was generally a good sport about it, and came off as a nice guy.

You might go so far as to label him the “face” to Jack Swagger’s “heel.” Especially when Swagger initially refused to let go of the choke. The Chicago crowd, who decided to get behind Jones, voiced their displeasure following the bout. Swagger was showered in boos.

Jones seemed to love the experience as a whole, if not the finish. “Once in a lifetime. Absolutely. Very blessed,” he told reporters including Cageside Press post-fight. Blessed certainly given that Bellator CEO Scott Coker is considering bringing Jones back for another fight.

.@TjTombstone pic.twitter.com/q6qux7MBzZ

— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) May 12, 2019

“I saw that, and I actually got a chance to talk to him. Hopefully he’ll get with my manager, Chris Gregory, and we’ll work something out,” Jones said of the prospect. With six kids, the meat plant worker likely won’t take much convincing.

When it comes to the finish against Swagger at Bellator 221, Jones stated plainly exactly what many fans were no doubt thinking Saturday night. “My biggest thing is, when the ref goes to pull you off, let go,” he said. “I understand I talk a lot, and I understand the emotions can get kind of high. But you have to be professional. After the fight, you have to shake my hand, give me a hug, say ‘hey, good fight buddy.'”

“You know, he didn’t do that. He tried to hurt me more,” Jones said. “This sport’s dangerous. You gotta be very smart, you gotta care about your opponent’s health. I care about his health. You don’t want to see stuff like that. And that got to me a little bit.”

Jones didn’t seem to fully buy Swagger’s explanation as to why he held on to the choke. “He spoke to me after, and he said that he thought I was trying to hit him. But you know, the ref is clearly trying to pull you off.”

There’s no hard feelings, however. “But maybe my talking got to him just a little bit. Which is crazy, because he’s the WWE guy.”

Asked whether he was over the line with his trash talking pre-fight (he wasn’t, frankly), Jones said that “I don’t think I was. I just wanted to remind him and everybody that he is only 1-0, and I’m 1-1, and in the world of MMA, we might be a little bit closer than people are giving us credit for.”

“You know, tonight he proved he was better, and absolutely I take every hat I have off to him,” Jones admitted. However, “after the fight’s over, once I tap out, once the ref pull’s you off, get off me.”

In spite of the controversial finish, Jones wanted no part of a DQ. “He beat me. I didn’t want the disqualification win. I’d prefer him get the victory.”

Jones’ walkout turned a lot of heads Saturday night. Busting a move or two on the way out to the Bellator cage certainly made an impression with fans. “I dance to every single fight I have,” he said back stage. “And that’s just because life’s a dance. You’ve got to enjoy every minute of it. You’ve got to enjoy the good, you’ve got to enjoy the bad. Because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Jones certainly is enjoying his moment in the spotlight. “I’ve gotten insane messages from people from like Ireland and Australia and actually one from Germany, like ‘hey we’re behind you.’ That’s amazing, yeah for sure,” he told reporters. “I got a Twitter finally, my manager’s been bugging me about getting a Twitter. And I finally got one. I had ten followers this morning, and I figured out how to look at how many I have now, it’s like 800.”

Should Bellator indeed give him another fight, he won’t have to undertake the insane weight loss he did for the Swagger fight. “I promise you, I promise you I will never be over 300lbs again. Unless I’m like 80 years old and I just want McDoubles all day.”

Watch the full Bellator 221 post-fight press scrum with TJ Jones above!

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There are a couple of pro wrestling terms that applied to Bellator 221’s main card bout between Jack Swagger and TJ Jones. A couple key ones. Mainly, “jobber,” and “squash match.” That’s certainly what it felt like heading in, at least. Swagger, a former WWE champion who was also a decorated collegiate wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, began his MMA career rather late, signing with Bellator in 2017, and making his debut earlier this year. However, a win over J.W. Kiser showed that Swagger at least had some raw talent.

For his second fight, Bellator opted to feed more of the same to Swagger, real name Jake Hager. TJ Jones was a 1-1 fighter in MMA as a pro, which on paper, made Swagger vs. Jones an even enough fight. But it was the pro wrestler (Swagger continues to compete in that world) who came in with all the tools necessary to dominate a fighter who was 329lbs when he signed up for the bout. Realistically, Jones was the jobber in this bout.

He had some fun with it at least. Jones danced on his way out, clearly reveling in the moment. When they went at it, however, the dance was over quickly. They clinched, and Jones did manage to reverse, but was soon taken down. Hager’s wrestling prowess was soon on display, as he controlled TJ Jones, then isolated an arm. Swagger wound up in side control, looking for a potential choke. He then switched back to the arm, looking for an Americana. Jones muscled out, but was on his knees with the ex-WWE star on his back. Hager landed some punches, then flattened Jones out, sinking in the arm-triangle choke. Jones quickly tapped, the ref came in to break it up, but Jake Hager was slow to release the hold, much to the displeasure of ref Mike Beltran.

💪@RealJackSwagger gets the W tonight via submission.

Our main card continues on 📲 @DAZN_USA!
and @SkySports in the 🇬🇧. pic.twitter.com/ARQyXqoPxy

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) May 12, 2019

The fighters would hug it out after, but the late release will no doubt become one of the larger talking points in a fight that was basically a squash match. Post-fight, Swagger said he thought the ref was actually his opponent, then gave a questionable line about being “rock hard” from the experience. With the fans booing, Swagger yelled out “keep booing me, I don’t care!” as he finished his interview.

Jake Hager def. TJ Jones by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 2:36

The post Bellator 221 Results: As Expected, Former Jack Swagger Squashes TJ Jones appeared first on Cageside Press.

Chicago, IL — TJ Jones hasn’t exactly won the jackpot, but he is about to cash in thanks to Jake Hager, a.k.a. Jack Swagger. The pair fight at Bellator 221 on Saturday in Chicago, and Jones gets a chance to derail the ex-WWE star.

The Jack Swagger experience is something like a bizarre lottery. When Scott Coker signed the former WWE superstar, he no doubt was hoping to find similar success to what Strikeforce and Bellator MMA had with fellow pro wrestling champ Bobby Lashley. Lashley owns a respectable 15-2 record in mixed martial arts, and was a big draw for Bellator prior to returning to his old WWE stomping grounds.

Swagger, or Hager if you prefer, fills that void. But Swagger, a decorated collegiate wrestler, was getting a late start in the fight game. He was 36 when he made his debut, and enters his sophomore outing at 37. Finding suitable opponents for an athlete with almost zero real fight experience has been an interesting process for Bellator.

At Bellator LA in his debut, Swagger got JW Kiser, a man with more underground fights than professional showings. TJ Jones is the man tasked with stopping Swagger at Bellator 221, and the meat plant worker has certainly put the effort in.

After all, he’s shed over sixty pounds since taking the fight.

“I feel great,” Jones told Cageside Press during Fight Week. “When I took the fight, I was 329 pounds. I took it in February. So a lot of this camp has just been hard cardio, a lot of running, getting in the gym, hitting the bag, sparring. Just the typical stuff to get ready for a fight.”

Months later, he’s now “266 exactly. I’m right on weight.”

“I had to cut a little bit,” he admitted, but that is just “doing what you gotta do as a professional.”

For those not familiar with Jones’s record, and that’s likely most MMA fans, he’s 1-1 as a pro, having last fought at RCWC: Halloween Brawl On Boot Hill in 2017. He picked up a submission win that night.

That’s not the full extent of his experience, Jones explained. “Unfortunately, some of it’s not on my record for whatever reason,” he said. “I think I have close to 24 fights. A lot of them are amateur MMA fights in the Springfield, Missouri area. I won a couple of the regional titles. As far as professional, I have about 12 professional boxing fights, then I think two MMA fights. So 15 pro fights.” Or thereabouts.

The plan in the Swagger fight is to keep it standing, said Jones. “Absolutely. I’m not a big fan of jiu-jitsu.” Yet he hasn’t been working on take down defense, he claimed. Instead, said Jones, “I’ve been working on angles.”

“We’re going to find out what his chin knows about wrestling. I don’t think his chin knows sh*t about wrestling.” Then, excusing his language (you can tell Jones is new to this whole Fight Week thing), he reiterated that “I don’t think his chin knows anything about wrestling. So when I put my glove through his chin, we’re going to see how he fares.”

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