“Within three or four fights, I reckon I’ll get the title.”
James Gallagher’s self-belief is nothing if not utterly convincing as he prepares for the biggest fight of his young career.
The SBG featherweight’s fourth professional outing comes on the world stage as Gallagher has recently been snapped up by Bellator in one of their boldest attempts to make more noise in their competition with the UFC.
The 19-year-old’s story is an incredible one and one that would translate beautifully to the silver screen. And ahead of his debut under Scott Coker at Bellator 158 on Saturday, Gallagher told us of his ambitions now that he has taken the most significant step on his journey to the summit of the mixed martial arts mountain
“I found out about Bellator’s interest around the start of February, before BAMMA 24, and then in early April John (Kavanagh) texted me to let me know,” Gallagher explained.
“A lot of people say that it must be hard to take all the excitement in but it’s really not. Like it is a bit mad when I finish training at night sometimes and I’ve got Sky TV ringing me for an interview but I do enjoy the media side of things so it’s not that much of an extra workload.”
It’s been less than a year since Gallagher made his professional debut but, in that time, he’s recorded three first round submission victories.
And while the move to a massive promotion like Bellator may seem a bit hasty, Gallagher does not feel at all rushed from a prospect on the Irish circuit to one-to-watch in one of the world’s biggest mixed martial arts organisations.
He said: “People look at me and see a young kid with a 3-0 record but I’ve got a lot of experience behind me and I’m more than ready to be here.
“Including amateur bouts, this will be my 22nd fight and I’ve been training my ass off.
“My coach wouldn’t have put me in this position if he didn’t feel I was prepared for the task at hand. John Kavanagh is a very smart man and he knows what he’s doing with his fighters.”
Gallagher, originally from Strabane, speaks glowingly of Kavanagh who has gone above and beyond the responsibilities of a head coach in order to award his young fighter with every possible opportunity to get ahead in the fight game.
“I’ll be honest. There’s no way I’d be where I am now if it was not for John,” Gallagher beamed.
“I was fighting up North and had my first fight when I was 13 years old but my old gym fell apart.
“I was running around to all these other gyms trying to get my training done because I was just in love with Jiu-Jitsu and MMA.
“I used to get on the bus after school, from Tyrone to Dublin, to train with John before I decided to quit school.
“John took me in, literally. I lived with him since I was about 15 but he wouldn’t let me fight until I turned 17.
“In that period of time, I was competing in BJJ and went from white belt to purple belt in 2 years. John has everything to do with that. It’s all thanks to him.
“I’ll never be able to repay that.”
Kavanagh won’t be in Gallagher’s corner this weekend as the SBG head coach will be in Las Vegas with UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor but ‘The Strabanimal’ will have his father as well as stablemates Kiefer Crosbie and Cian Cowley on hand supporting him in his promotional debut against Mike Cutting.
Comparisons have been drawn by many between Gallagher and McGregor and that’s not just due to the fact that they train out of the same gym.
It’s the unapologetic confidence of both men that divides opinion but, by that same token, guarantees that fight fans are talking about them.
“I just embrace everything, the hate, the love. It’s all the same,” Gallagher said. “Whatever is positive stays with me and whatever is negative leaves. It’s not my problem if people don’t like my confidence.
“If I didn’t put in the training or work with the coaches that I’ve got, I wouldn’t be confident. I’d be going to bed every night going ‘fuck, I’m not ready!’
“Of course I’m confident. What? Do you want me to go in here and think I’m going to get beat? That’s not how I think and people can just say what the fuck they want.”
In terms of his promotional debut, Gallagher foresees his first round submission record continuing at the O2 Arena in London.
“I think I’ll submit him in the first five minutes if I’m honest,” he said.
“And within three or four fights, I reckon I’ll get a title but fuck the time. I’m going to get it. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. I’m going to get that belt.”
