James Gallagher’s stunning performance at Bellator 180 may have earned him a marquee fight against another star of the card.
SBG starlet James Gallagher will be getting a step up in competition for his next fight.
The 20-year-old was one of the stand-out stars in the promotion’s New York debut. Gallagher scored an impressive first round submission against Chinzo Machida.
After locking in that rear-naked choke to force the tap from the Brazilian Jiu0Jitsu black-belt, Gallagher proclaimed to the crowd inside Madison Square Garden that he ‘always comes for the first round finish’.
It was thought that the fight to make next might be against fellow undefeated prospect AJ McKee, but another big name is being thrown around in relation to ‘the Strabanimal’.
Just 20 years of age #BellatorNYC #Bellator180 https://t.co/2S2bIP5xrz
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 25, 2017
Bellator president Scott Coker appeared on Monday’s MMA Hour and he hinted that McKee could well be Gallagher’s next opponent. However, host Ariel Helwani threw out Zach Freeman, fresh from his upset win over Aaron Pico at Bellator 180, could be another great matchup.
Coker didn’t write off that possibility. In fact, he sounded quite excited with matching up one of his most promising prospects with a known prospect killer. If it were to happen, it could take place on home soil for Gallagher.
“Yeah, why not? We’ll have to change his name from ‘the Altar Boy’ to ‘the Prospect Killer’. That would probably be an interesting fight. We could promote that fight. Maybe we’ll do that fight in Ireland.”
“Oh we’re definitely going back.”
Freeman improved his overall record to 9-2 with his 24-second demolition of Pico in the Big Apple. He entered into the fight off the back of an RFA title loss to Thiago Moises.
Gallagher, on the other hand, has yet to taste defeat as a professional. His win over Machida kept his pristine professional intact and increased his win-streak to seven.
