James Gallagher

The Stabanimal

Ireland

Bellator London postponed
FeatherweightBellator
March 30, 2020
Gallagher will no longer face Callum Ellenor in the main event of Bellator London on May 16, as the event has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ariel Helwani of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
Gallagher is a 23-year-old prospect that is gaining momentum, but he'll no longer get a chance to put his three-fight winning streak on the line in a main-event spot. The promotion also cancelled its remaining May events, which include Bellator 242 on May 9 and Bellator 242 on May 29.
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Wins catchweight bout in London
FeatherweightBellator
June 24, 2019
Gallagher defeated Jeremiah Labiano in a catchweight (140) fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at Bellator 223 on Friday in London.
ANALYSIS
Since his loss to Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 204, Gallagher has managed to string together consecutive victories to improve his MMA record to 9-1. This was an incredibly close fight where Gallagher likely took the first frame with his grappling, but the fight was even after the second where Labiano held the edge. The third was a 50-50 round where Gallagher started on top but finished on his back, though the judges ultimately awarded him the fight. The SBG Ireland product clearly has tremendous grappling ability and plenty of room to grow at age-22, but it will take some time for him to be ready for the elite featherweights of Bellator.
Loses unblemished record at Bellator 204
FeatherweightBellator
August 17, 2018
Gallagher lost to Ricky Bandejas via TKO (punches) at 2:49 of Round 1 at Bellator 204 on Friday in Sioux Falls, S.D.
ANALYSIS
Gallagher returned from a 14-month layoff, and he was still expected to defeat Bandejas. Early in the round, it looked like it was going to be a good night for the Irish fighter. He was jumping in and out with his strikes and landing hard leg kicks on the outside. However, Bandejas timed two hard right hands that hurt Gallagher. After getting dropped, Gallagher ate a kick to the face, and then it was only a matter of time. Bellator has put a lot of time into promotion Gallagher, and this loss will certainly hurt his hype. However, he still has a strong future in the promotion.
Booked against Adam Borics
FeatherweightBellator
February 8, 2018
Gallagher will face off against Adam Borics in the main event of Bellator 196 in Budapest, Hungary, on April 6, Brett Okamoto of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
Gallagher is coming off knee surgery in late October, which forced him to back out of his bout versus Jeremiah Labiano at Bellator 187. "The Stabanimal" is a perfect 7-0 in his professional career, including a win over Chinzo Machida during his most recent fight in June. On the other hand, Borics will be competing in his home country and enters with a 6-0 record. This will be his second fight in the Bellator promotion after besting Anthony Taylor in his debut in April.
Considers knee surgery a success
FeatherweightBellator
November 2, 2017
Gallagher underwent knee surgery the weekend of Oct. 28 and claims it was successful, Peter Carroll of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Gallagher was forced to miss his Bellator debut in Dublin, which was scheduled for Nov. 10, due to a knee injury sustained during training. The 21-year-old underwent surgery for his knee this past weekend and is hopeful that he'll be back to training in six weeks. Instead of having to fix ligaments like originally thought, Gallagher stated that doctors only "cleared cartilage and scoped out other stuff." When the Irishman will return isn't known, but the March date he was aiming for shouldn't be a problem.
Knee injury forces withdrawal from Bellator 187
FeatherweightBellator
October 15, 2017
Gallagher (knee) will no longer be able to headline Bellator 187 against Jeremiah Labiano, Peter Carroll of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Gallagher, one of Bellator's top prospects, was set to headline their Dublin event on Nov. 10, but suffered a knee injury during training. The young fighter is facing the possibility of surgery on his PCL and LCL. Without surgery, Gallagher predicts a return to training at the start of 2018. With surgery and recovery, the timetable for return expands to at least March. A featherweight bout featuring A.J. McKee and Brian Moore has been bumped up to the main event as a replacement.