Before last summer, the young upstart Irish grappler had announced himself as the next big thing in MMA, talking a big game and backing it up with pristine submissions. He was quickly drawing comparisons to Conor McGregor with his penchant for showmanship. But at Bellator 204, Ricky Bandejas put Gallagher’s plans on hold, knocking him out in under three minutes.
On Saturday night at Bellator 217 in Dublin, Ireland, “The Strabanimal” returned to his winning ways, submitting Steven Graham in front of his home country crowd.
Gallagher came out with the crowd behind him and immediately caught a body kick from Graham, quickly taking it to the floor and securing the back.