They certainly don’t pay James Gallagher by the hour.
‘The Strabanimal’ earned the tenth win of his professional career in front of eardrum-shattering crowd inside Dublin’s 3Arena on Friday night. The 22-year-old SBG fighter was forced to contend with a change of opponent barely a week out from the contest, as three-time UFC veteran Roman Salazar was drafted in to replace Cal Ellenor in the main event after the Englishman was forced to withdraw due to medical concerns.
In the end, the switch didn’t make much difference to Gallagher. Moments into the first round, Gallagher seized a Guillotine Choke after the American fighter drove forward following a knee strike from the Irishman. The fact that Gallagher kept the choke tight meant he knew that it was dangerous. Salazar signalled his agreement moments later by tapping out.
JUST LIKE THAT!
James Gallagher doesn't even break a sweat!
A very quick guillotine submission and a celebration with teammate "The Notorious" Conor McGregor. #BellatorDublin pic.twitter.com/sBIjM9a6Xc
— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) September 27, 2019
“I’m absolutely bullet proof,” Gallagher told Josh Thomson after the fight. “I don’t care what happen. I will run through walls to make this happen for me. You can say hat you want. You can kick me when I’m down. I do not give one fuck. No one, and I mean fucking no one, is going to take this away from me.”
Before that, the war of words between Michael ‘Venom’ Page and Richard Kiely was won by the Englishman, who put the SBG man away midway through the first round with a typically flamboyant flying knee KO. Before that, Page had a point deducted by the referee for showboating in the ring. It was that kind of fight.
Earlier in the night, Peter Queally got the win inside his home country that he has craved. Soundtracked once again by one of the most memorable walkouts in all of mixed martial arts, Queally began the first round against Ryan Scope quickly and used a combination of striking and cage control claim the first round. However, moments into the second the Newcastle man caught Queally with a left high kick which sent him to the mat.
Scope threw everything he had into the finish but Queally has never been finished in his professional career and you could tell that doing some in front of his hometown support wasn’t on the agenda. In a moment reminiscent of Cathal Pendred in this same building five years ago, Queally worked back to guard and then to his feet. Moments later it was Scope who was down after Queally rose with a barrage of strikes, followed them up on the ground and that was all she wrote.
The night also showed a patient performance from Kiefer Crosbie who outpointed Hugo Pereira over three rounds, while the battle of the Americans was won by Benson Henderson who was given the judges’ decision against the debuting Myles Jury.
For the full list of results, click here.
