CHICAGO – Facing a besuited Jake Hager following a Bellator 221 news conference, T.J. Jones couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.
Turning toward the cameras, Jones smiled wide and flashed a hand signal more at home in a college seflie than a professional fight. If Jones looks a little out of place in the days before his fight with hager, that’s because he is. The 29-year-old father of six has a record of 1-1 and carries the nickname “Tombstone.”
Up at 4 a.m. every day, Jones works at a “beef plant” in Springfield, Mo., when he’s not training.
Of course, former WWE star Hager (a.k.a. Jack Swagger) has a record of 1-0 as a professional. So from a matchmaking perspective, the pair are on an even playing field. But sitting on the dais with the headliners of Saturday’s fight card, Jones was looking nothing but up.
“It’s probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life,” Jones told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “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.”
Don’t get Jones wrong: He still plans to put up a fight against his opponent, who made his professional debut in January. But if things don’t go his way, he’s got a fallback plan.
“If I lose, I just go back to the beef plant,” he said.
For more on Bellator 221, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
