Brash Irish bantamweight James Gallagher will return to the Bellator cage in February, when he takes on Steven Graham at Bellator: Gallagher vs. Graham.
SBG Ireland’s James Gallagher is set to make his return to the Bellator MMA cage in February. On Monday, the promotion announced via press release that Gallagher would top their return to Dublin, Ireland in just over two months’ time. There, the ‘Strabanimal’ will face Steven Graham in the main event of Bellator: Gallagher vs. Graham. The card comes just a week after the promotion hosts two big back-to-back shows stateside in Connecticut.
For James Gallagher (7-1), it will be a chance to erase the memory of a first-round knockout against Ricky Bandejas at UFC 204 in August. That shocking upset served as a rude welcome to Bellator’s bantamweight division, after Gallagher had been plying his trade at featherweight. He’ll stick it out at 135lbs against Graham, however, signalling that at least for now, the drop in weight is an ongoing project.
Gallagher won his first four fights in Bellator, but it was his brash, trash-talking style, so reminiscent of teammate Conor McGregor, that thrust him into the spotlight.
The lesser known Steven Graham (6-3), meanwhile, comes into the Gallagher fight on a five fight win streak. A brown belt in BJJ, all six of his wins have come via finish.
Bellator: Gallagher vs. Graham takes place February 23 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The event will air on both Paramount Network and streaming service DAZN.
