James Gallagher: Respect to Cal Ellenor, but he’s in my way at Bellator Europe 7

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James Gallagher: Respect to Cal Ellenor, but he’s in my way at Bellator Europe 7

LONDON – James Gallagher says he’s on a path towards greatness and ready to take out anyone in his way.

Gallagher (10-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) meets Cal Ellenor (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator Europe 7 in Dublin, a fight that had to be rescheduled when Ellenor was forced out of their Bellator Europe 4 main event due to issues with his brain scans.

Instead, Gallagher faced Roman Salazar, whom he submitted in just 35 seconds. After receiving a second opinion, Ellenor was cleared to fight, and the two are now rescheduled to face off Feb. 22.

And Gallagher said he’s the one that made the fight happen.

“They say I’m all talk,” Gallagher told MMA Junkie. “Cal pulled out with the brain thing. I told Cal he gets that sorted, I’ll fight him again. I made that fight happen. I contacted Bellator: ‘Get that fight; that man deserves it.’ Mike Kimbel talked shit; he got banged. Good luck, you know what I mean? That’s real talk.”

Instead of promoting his fight with Ellenor, Gallagher almost came to blows with Mike Kimbel last week during Bellator Europe 6 media day, which stemmed from a comment that Kimbel made about Gallagher’s mother.

However, Gallagher is fully focused on the task ahead, and while he has a lot of respect for Ellenor, it’s all business for the young teammate of Conor McGregor.

“He’s a great fighter, looks like a good man,” Gallagher said. “I’m not friends with him. I don’t like him. I don’t dislike him. I’ve got nothing. Nothing, just that’s my answer, is nothing. But what I do got on my hands on Feb. 22 is a man who’s trying to take away everything of my dreams. I’ve been dreaming of this greatness, striving for success, and I’ve got a man who wants to come and take that away from me. I want to deal with him. I want to deal with him; I want to punish him for doing that.”

James Gallagher: Respect to Cal Ellenor, but he's in my way at Bellator Europe 7