James Gallagher is a recognisable name in the world of MMA, especially for those who followed Bellator from 2016 onwards. The Irish featherweight came through the Straight Blast Gym in Dublin, Ireland, a gym made famous for housing Conor McGregor in his prime.
The Strabanimal made his amateur MMA debut at just 18 years old and his professional debut at 19. He impressed massively in his early career and shot to fame due to his brash, trash-talking confident persona, emulating McGregor.
He quickly progressed to 7-0 with impressive wins over Anthony Taylor and Chinzo Machida of note.
It came crashing down for Gallagher, however. A video that may fans, casuals and non MMA fans will have seen documents the downfall of the young Irishman. The classic ‘cocky fighter gets humbled’ tag line often headlines the video.
Ahead of his bout with Ricky Bandejas, Gallagher marched across the octagon and got in the face of his opponent. When the fight began, however, it was clear that Gallagher had bit off more than he could chew with Bandejas and he was viciously knocked out in the first round.
He did bounce back in a series of four favourable fights, however, he would finish his Bellator career with losses to Patchy Mix and Leandro Higo, eliminating him from ever truly being considered ‘elite’.
James Gallagher Refuses to Fight
Since his 2021 loss to Mix, James Gallagher has only competed three times, last making the walk in June of this year. Fans expected the Irishman to clash with Ali AlQaisi this past Thursday night at ACA 194.
Set to take place in Dubai, Gallagher and AlQasis weighed in on Wednesday, having a respectful face off the day before the fight.
🇮🇪 Irish MMA standout James Gallagher took a chance to show his support to Palestine 🇵🇸 at the ceremonial weigh-ins of the ACA event in Dubai. Gallagher makes his promotional debut this Thursday at Dubai’s Agenda arena against Ali AlQaisi who represents Palestine. pic.twitter.com/fiDtzz0RNE
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 23, 2025
Come fight night, however, it wasn’t to be. Rumours swirled online, however, nothing was official until AlQaisi, Gallagher’s scheduled opponent made the walk to the octagon… it wasn’t to fight, however.
Taking to the mic, he informed fans that the Gallagher fight wouldn’t happen due to the Irishman not being happy with the venue, specifically the warm-up area.
As of yet, we haven’t heard anything from Gallagher himself, but we can expect a statement in the near future.
It’s worth noting that no other fighter seemingly had an issue with the venue, including former UFC star Guram Kutateladze, who got back to winning was with a first round knockout having been cut from the UFC.
Gallagher’s opponent, Ali AlQaisi, comes out and says Gallagher refused to fight because he didn’t like the warm-up area.
Be interested to hear what James has to say.
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) October 23, 2025
Certainly a strange situation for James Gallagher…
