Just days after it was announced that Peter Queally had been forced to withdraw from his Bellator Dublin co-main event against Brent Primus, the February 22 card has suffered another blow after it was announced that James Gallagher has pulled out of the event due to an undisclosed injury.
Gallagher had been scheduled to face England’s Cal Ellenor in the main event in a rescheduled bout from last September in which Ellenor pulled out due to issues which came as a result of a brain scan in the lead-in to the fight. Now cleared to fight, Ellenor and Gallagher had been set to clash later this month until news of an undisclosed injury scuppered the bout.
News of the injury was first reported by MMA Fighting.
SBG Charlestown fighter Leah McCourt will now compete in the main event against Germany’s Judith Ruis.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
Due to an undisclosed injury to James Gallagher, his fight against Cal Ellenor is off the #BellatorDublin card.
Now with top billing, @leahmccourtmma faces Judith Ruis live on @channel5_tv, Saturday, February 22nd at 10 pm GMT. pic.twitter.com/PNvSRqSvmY
— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) February 4, 2020
“Due to an undisclosed injury, James Gallagher will no longer compete on Feb. 22 in Dublin, and his bout with Cal Ellenor has been removed from the card,” Bellator said in a statement to MMA Fighting. “A women’s featherweight matchup featuring Ireland’s Leah McCourt taking on Judith Ruis of Germany will now headline Bellator’s highly anticipated return to 3Arena.
Gallagher’s injury is a significant blow to the event. It was slated to be his third headline bout in Ireland’s largest indoor arena following two quick submissions wins against Steven Graham and Roman Salazar in the Irish capital.
Several top Irish fighters remain on the card, such as Kiefer Crosbie, Charlie Ward, Paul Redmond and Frans Mlambo.
**Update**
Gallagher has provided comment on social media, which you can see below.
