Gallagher was met by a tough test in the form of LAW MMA’s James Gonzalez, in what marked the Irishman’s first bout since suffering a loss to Patchy Mix in November 2021. “The Alley Cat” entered the bout with some momentum following a first-round knockout victory on the PFL Challenger Series, though Gallagher was hungrier than ever and managed to showcase his improved skills en route to a narrow split-decision victory.

“I did what I had to do,” Gallagher said in the post-fight press conference. “I won and that’s the main thing. I’ve got a lot to learn, a lot to grow – a lot to improve. It was a tough, tough fight, but I was calm. I won the first two rounds and then I just coasted in the last one…I had to do what I had to do. Winners f***ing win.”

Despite winning his first fight in nearly two years just moments prior, Gallagher already had his sights set on the next one – and even has an opponent in mind.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for (Leandro) Higo. Good fighter, tough challenge. If he wants to go 145 in Dublin in 40 days – I’m ready,” Gallagher said. “I’ll do that – no f***ing problem. I respect him, that’s a hard fight for me and that’ll be another win. I’m very, very interested in that.”

Higo called out Gallagher after winning his fight on Friday night, and while he fights at bantamweight as opposed to 145, it’ll be interesting to see whether Higo is up for the challenge and makes the move to featherweight to challenge “The Strabanimal”.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with James Gallagher above.

James Gallagher def. James Gonzalez by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

The post James Gallagher on return to win column at Bellator 298 following near two-year layoff appeared first on Cageside Press.

Opposite Gallagher, welcoming the “StrabAnimal” back to the fold, was James Gonzalez, though it’s impossible to look at the match-up and not think of Cris Lencioni. “Sunshine” was Gallagher’s originally scheduled opponent, but went into cardiac arrest during a medical emergency earlier this summer.

Luckily, Lencioni survived, though he has a long road to recovery ahead. The show must go on, however, and it was Gonzalez again stepping up on short notice, as he had against Aaron Pico not too long ago.

Gallagher had to contend with eating a shot from James Gonzalez early — but he took it, and landed a takedown shortly after. On top, the Irish fighter went to work, settling into guard, where he began creating space to land elbows. Gonzalez, however, would go hunting for a leg lock from bottom, putting Gallagher on the defensive.

Eventually pulling free, Gallagher would get on top once again. From there, he’d have to contend with Gonzalez hunting a leg again, but Gallagher himself would attempt a heel hook while standing. In the end, he’d finish on top landing some very active ground n’ pound.

Round two saw Gonzalez fire a spinning kick to the body early. A feigned jumping attack was followed by a level change for Gallagher, who dragged his opponent down. Gallagher looked the take the back, getting one hook in. Gonzalez ripped the body from bottom, but that also meant accepting the position.

Gonzalez would close his guard, and later transition to an arm-bar attempt. He didn’t have it, and Gallagher moved from north-south to side control, then wound up in Gonzalez’s half-guard. As active as James Gonzalez was off his back, he just wasn’t winning the round from there.

The third and final round saw James Gonzalez turn up the heat. He came out swinging, and backed Gallagher up. But Gallagher landed a key takedown, getting on top and going to work.

This time, the position didn’t last long. Gonzalez scrambled to the fence, where Gallagher threatened to take the back. Gonzalez had other plans. He landed a throw and got on top, coming close to making it to mount. Gallagher was active enough on the bottom to avoid any serious damage, but the round clearly belonged to Gonzalez! Which took things to the judges — two of whom scored the fight for Gallagher.

“Winners win, motherf*ckers. Winners f*cking win,” Gallagher said after the fight, as the crowd rained down a chorus of boos. “That was a sloppy performance. I want a quick turnaround,” he added. “My mindset’s different. That was just a warm-up.”

Official Result: James Gallagher def. James Gonzalez by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

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Gallagher (11-2) will now face James Gonzalez (10-6) at the event on August 11, 2023 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

A source familiar with the situation confirmed the booking to Cageside Press on Monday, following an initial report by MMA Fighting.

Gallagher will be looking to bounce back from a loss to current interim bantamweight champion Patchy Mix in the fight. “The StrabAnimal” has seen several match-ups fall through since that November 2021 setback.

Gonzalez, who won a bout on the PFL Challenger Series earlier this year, returns to the Bellator MMA cage after suffering a loss against Aaron Pico. Gonazalez also did a stint in Cage Fury FC, competing for both that promotion’s bantamweight and featherweight titles.

Bellator 298 is headlined by welterweights Logan Storley and Brennan Ward. The card currently has the following fights reported:

• Logan Storley vs. Brennan Ward
• Valentin Moldavsky vs. Steve Mowry
• Dalton Rosta vs. Aaron Jeffery
• Sidney Outlaw vs. Islam Mamedov
• James Gallagher vs. James Gonzalez
• Lucas Brennan vs. Weber Almeida
• Leandro Higo vs. Nikita Mikhailov
• Diana Avsaragova vs. Justine Kish
• Alfie Davis vs. Aalon Cruz
• Dayana Silva vs. Katerina Shakalova
• Max Rohskopf vs. Jairo Pacheco
• Jerrell Hodge vs. Marcirley Alves da Silva
• Michael Blockhus vs. Eli Mefford
• Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Dante Schiro

The post With Cris Lencioni Hospitalized, James Gallagher Now Faces James Gonzalez at Bellator 298 appeared first on Cageside Press.

While Gonzalez might not be a name that jumped off the page to many, he was in the fight by virtue of his willingness to step up and fight on short notice, after multiple opponents turned Pico down, followed by Otto Rodrigues pulling out due to injury.

Gonzalez opened the action with a couple of kicks, low and high, and immediately got his hands going— clearly looking to earn the respect of the ever-dangerous Pico. As for Pico, he walked Gonzalez down, first at one side of the cage, then the other, letting his hands go as Gonzalez backed up. Pico ripped the body with some heavy shots; they moved back to center, clinched, and Gonzalez landed a decent elbow.

Back on the fence, however, Pico continued with his patented body work. Gonzalez covered up, weathered the storm, and circled out. Pico walked his opponent, who was starting to look like prey, down again, again going to the body. In the next sequence, Pico dropped for a high-crotch single, but couldn’t land the takedown. Plan A, ripping the body, had been working just fine, however, and so Pico went right back to that well.

THOSE BODY SHOTS! @AaronPicoUSA's best moment in round 1.#Bellator295 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/ERep5yAT1D

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 23, 2023

Gonzalez, having found a moment to get his offense going, fired a couple of kicks — only for Pico to take the fight down a moment later.

Round two again found Aaron Pico in the driver’s seat. Body work, and a takedown, all in the first 90 seconds. Gonzalez found himself seated by the fence, Pico working him over. To his credit, Gonzalez worked his way up, only to eat another brutal body blow. Followed by the next takedown. Gonzalez next wound up on his knees, covering up, after a scramble, eating leather. He survived, returning to his feet once again.

In the later part of the round, Pick landed more body shots, a knee up top in the clinch, and one final takedown. Gonzalez was behind two rounds, with a 10-8 no doubt in play.

An early takedown landed by Aaron Pico in the third gave Gonzalez a chance to land an upkick, though he couldn’t connect clean. Pico would let Gonzalez back up only to take him down again. The scene that had unfolded through over two rounds could kindly be described as a bad night at the office for James Gonzalez, or more accurately, a beatdown.

At range, Pico landed an uppercut and body shot as Gonzalez closed the distance. Moments later, another Pico takedown. Gonzalez scored points for toughness, but not the sort of points that turn up on the judges’ scorecards. With half a round remaining, his only hope was a Hail Mary KO. But when he closed the distance, Pico simply changed levels and planted him on the canvas, seemingly with ease.

The final minute saw the pair clinch up along the fence, a rare slowdown in the action. Not for lack of effort, as Pico tried to get off a few shots and finally dumped Gonzalez with about 20 seconds left. Gonzalez finished the fight coming forward throwing kicks, but it was all for not. Three rounds of dominance from Aaron Pico, who was simply on another level on Saturday night.

Official Result: Aaron Pico def. James Gonzalez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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A spot in the league’s regular season was on the line as eight fighters faced off in Orlando, Florida. Last season, British standout Brendan Loughnane had won it all, completing a journey that began when he was snubbed on Dana White’s Contender Series, denied a UFC contract despite a dominant performance.

Who would join Loughnane in the PFL regular season? Mexican featherweight Brahyan Zurcher headlined Friday’s five-fight card, looking at his toughest test yet in David Evans. Undefeated at 4-0 to start the night, Zurcher had told Cageside Press that he had hopes of being called Rookie of the Year this season.

SBG Ireland’s Nate Kelly, winner of six straight, was also in action, paired up with Zachary Hicks. Hicks had won three fights in 2022, two by submission, after missing all of 2021.

The PFL Challenger Series 2023 Week 6 card takes place at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, with the event’s stream kicking off at 9PM ET. Full results from Friday’s card can be found below.

PFL Challenger Series 2023 Week 6 Results

Brahyan Zurcher def. David Evans by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:37
Nathan Kelly def. Zack Hicks by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 2:30
Gabriel Braga def. Ago Huskic by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 29-28)
James Gonzalez def. Vikas Singh Ruhil by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 4:20

Brahyan Zurcher earns a PFL contract and a spot in the regular season

The post PFL Challenger Series 2023 Week 6 Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Best of Best Championship 1 | Thursday | Friday

Middleweight, Imam-Shapi Mukhtarov (7-0)

Mukhtarov is an exciting prospect out of Russia with an undefeated record. He’s got a diverse kickboxing style throwing a lot of spinning attacks. He’s always throwing something different and looks very tricky. Mukhtarov has good judo as well and is just as good on the mat with his jiu-jitsu. He fights Arman Saparov (4-4).

CFFC 86 | Thursday | US

Bantamweight, James Gonzalez (6-3)

Gonzalez may not have a good looking record but his three losses are to Mike Trizano twice and Bill Algeo. Gonzalez is a product out of Serra Jiu-Jitsu. He is a jiu-jitsu black belt and on the mat is where he wants to be. Gonzalez has an aggressive submission base attacking in every position and attacking every limb. He’s excellent at transitioning submission to submission. On his back or on top he’s usually the offensive fighter. He fights Levi Mowles (13-4).

Bantamweight, Levi Mowles (13-4)

Mowles is a black belt in jiu-jitsu with diverse skills who holds a very rare twister submission. His wrestling is good, but the work he does on that mat is where he is best. His guard passes, all his transitions, and his movement are all top-notch and even his ground and pound is good. On the feet, at times he is flat-footed but when he lets his hands go he is a good striker who always throws more than one strike and is getting better and better. He fights James Gonzalez (6-3).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKEAkWtRP_M&t=517s&ab_channel=AXSTVFights

Bellator 250 | Thursday | US

Middleweight, Johnny Eblen (6-0)

Eblen has a background as a Division I wrestler for the University of Missouri and he’s absolutely dominated with takedowns in MMA thus far. On the feet, Eblen bounces in and out throwing the outside leg kick well. Eblen times his shots very well grabbing the single leg and pressing his opponent against the cage then dropping levels executing the double leg. Eblen’s hands are improving, but does more crashing forward to close the distance to work in takedowns. He fights Taylor Johnson (6-1) who is an excellent prospect in his own right.

Middleweight, Dalton Rosta (3-0)

Dalton Rosta is an NCAA wrestler, took part in jiu-jitsu and boxing from a young age, and played one year of college football for Youngstown State as a linebacker. He’s 3-0 in Bellator and as a pro and an amateur he has finished all of his fights. Rosta is still raw but is an excellent wrestler and has a good top position. He just needs to work on his striking and cardio. He fights Ty Gwerder (5-1) who is his biggest test to date.

ONE Championship | Friday | Singapore

Middleweight/Light heavyweight, Aung La N Sang (26-10)

It’s tough to call Aung La N Sang a prospect, but he has had a lot of setbacks in his career. However, he has now hit his stride. He’s on a current seven-fight win streak and is the current ONE Championship middleweight and light heavyweight titleholder. N Sang is a warrior who will go out on his shield every time. He will continue to walk forward eating shots to give some of his own. He has a controlled chaos style throwing with the wind but mixes up his attacks very well. N Sang isn’t the prettiest style fighter but his toughness is second to none. He fights Reinier de Ridder (12-0).

Middleweight, Reinier de Ridder (12-0)

Don’t let Reinier de Ridder’s stand-up game fool you: nine of his twelve finishes have come by submission. He’s great in the clinch, and Ridder fights well at a distance as he has an excellent jab. When he lets his hands go, he is really accurate. The mat is where Ridder wants to be, as he is an expert jiu-jitsu practitioner — the sort who can time perfect double-leg takedowns. If Ridder is in the clinch, expect him to get the takedown as his hips are excellent and judo tosses are his best weapon. On top, or even on the mat in general, Ridder is the one in control. He is always moving and searching for submissions and that’s why he has eight submission wins. He fights the ONE double champion, Aung La Nsang (26-10) for the promotion’s middleweight (don’t forget the modified weight rules) title.

Lightweight, Christian Lee (13-3)

Lee is excellent on the feet, being quick and dynamic with outstanding footwork. His abilities on the mat are there when needed, holding four submission wins to date. At only 22, Lee is already a star for ONE Championship. Imagine where he’s going to be in, say, five years. He’s well-rounded, has solid cardio, and gets better in every fight. He fights Iuri Lapicus (14-0).

Lightweight, Iuri Lapicus (14-0)

Lapicus is an excellent prospect out of Moldova. Fighting for ONE Championship he’s beat both Shannon Wiratchai and Marat Gafurov. Lapicus has excellent judo and is primarily a grappler. He has finished all fourteen of his fights; ten of those have come by submission. Not much of a striker but it seems as he’s steadily improving there He fights the ONE champion Christian Lee (13-3).

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Left out will be fighters that fought on the previous three seasons, though some may return.

If you missed them, check out parts one and two of our series.

Korey Kuppe

Welterweight | 31 | Macomb, Michigan, US | 8-3 | Win Streak: 2 | 1 KO/TKO, 7 Submissions

Korey Kuppe, although he still has a lot of growth left in his career, is a quality talent and his personality catches attention. He’s had a few setbacks but his last two wins are over J.P. Saint Louis and Kenny Cross who are both good fighters. Kuppe has a background in Karate being a 3x WKC world champ and a 4th-degree black belt in tang soo do. His tall build at 170 standing at 6’5″ will give a lot of guys problems, making him a very interesting prospect.

Ramiz Brahimaj

Welterweight | 27 | Dallas, Texas, US | 8-2 | Win Streak: 1 | 8 Submissions

Ramiz Brahimaj was supposed to fight last year on Dana White’s Contender Series but an injury forced him out. He’s had some fights he lost where he should’ve won but is back in the win column. Don’t forget Brahimaj trains out of Fortis MMA which is an outstanding team. He’s a former IBJJF NoGi world champion and someone I think will be in the UFC with or without the Contender Series.

Elijah Johns

Lightweight | 23 | Dallas, Texas, US | 6-1 | Win Streak: 4 | 3 KO/TKOs

Elijah Johns is the younger brother of Contender Series contract winner and now UFC fighter Miles Johns. Like Brahimaj above, Johns is also a product out of Fortis MMA. His sole loss is from being on the wrong end of a split decision. The level of competition he’s fought hasn’t been great but has looked to be a cut above. Johns is still young so it wouldn’t hurt if he skipped this year and came on next year but he should be looked at no doubt.

 Christopher Daukaus

Heavyweight | 30 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | 8-3 | Win Streak: 1 | 7 KO/TKOs

Christopher Daukaus’ last name by be familiar to the Contender Series audience and that’s because his little brother Kyle was on the last season. Christopher was on the verge on a UFC shot, many would think, before he lost to former UFC fighter Azunna Anyanwu. Prior to that loss, Daukaus was on a 5-fight win streak. He’s back on the board with a win getting his fifth first-round stoppage.

Santos Curatolo

Flyweight | 24 | Staten Island, New York, US | 4-0 | Win Streak: 6 | 3 KO/TKOs , 1 Submission

Santos Curatolo’s competition hasn’t been too good and his strength of schedule needs work. But that said Curatolo has still looked stellar thus far and has treated his lack of competition the way he should’ve. Curatolo is an excellent wrestler rag-dolling guys around. He’s a pure athlete who I think can jump into the UFC and do well.

Carlos Ulberg

Light-heavyweight | 29 | Auckland, New Zealand | 2-0 | Win Streak: 2 | 1 KO/TKO

Carlos Ulberg is a product out of City Kickboxing with the likes Brad Riddell, Shane Young, Kai Kara-France, and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Ulberg isn’t only a fighter but also an actor and a model. Known for his background in kickboxing Ulberg is a two-time King of the Ring tournament winner, the same tournament Adesanya won three times. He may have the least experience in all these fighters but I would love to see him get a chance.

Chelsea Hackett

Flyweight | 21 | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia | 3-0-1 | Win Streak: 3 | 1 KO/TKO

Chelsea Hackett comes from a Muay Thai background as she’s a two-time world Muay Thai champion and a former WBC Muay Thai Champion. In her MMA career, the girls so far have tried mainly to put her on her back. However, Hackett has shown good takedown defense and is the one getting takedowns herself. She is much better on the feet, notably in the clinch, with good kickboxing, and combos from the outside. A fight with Casey O’Neill would be awesome even if they do fight at different weight classes.

James Gonzalez

Featherweight | 29 | East Patchogue, New York, US | 6-3 | Win Streak: 2 | 1 KO/TKO, 3 Submissions

Gonzalez may have a 6-3 record but his losses are to Bill Algero and Mike Trizano twice so no shame in that. In his last fight, he fought a top prospect in Pat Sabatini. He was expected to lose but got it done with a nasty armlock finish in under a minute. Gonzalez is the current CFFC featherweight champion. He’s still growing and at least in the grappling department, being a BJJ black belt, he’s a threat to anyone.

The post Scouting Prospects for the Contender Series Season 4: Part 3 appeared first on Cageside Press.