Gallagher gone from flat out to Sky high
JAMES GALLAGHER first realised his calling in life when he was 12, walking into his local gym in Strabane. He had his first competitive fight a year later, beating someone seven years his senior. By 15, he begged his parents to allow him leave school, so he could follow his dream.
They refused — at first. But the young Tyrone man was persistent. When he started cutting class, they relented. He made them a promise. He would become a world champion and prove that it was all worth it. Tonight represents another step on that journey as he headlines the Bellator Mixed Martial Arts card in Dublin’s 3 Arena when he takes on Steven Graham in a bantamweight bout (live on Sky Sports).
It has been quite the journey. He was brought under the wing of John Kavanagh, the coach who guided Conor McGregor to stardom. Kavanagh was so taken by Gallagher’s drive and determination that he took the Strabane native into his home.
‘John thought I was mad when I told him I was quitting school to concentrate on the sport. He tried to talk me out of it, as everyone did, but I was determined. I wouldn’t be talked out of it,’ Gallagher, 22, recalls.
That was seven years ago. He made a name for himself in the famous sparring sessions in Kavanagh’s Straight Blast Gym on Dublin’s Long Mile Road. He seemed destined for the top. But there have been hiccups. A severe arm injury denied him the opportunity to become world champion as an amateur and there has been a serious knee injury.
And then last August, he suffered his first defeat as a professional, knocked out by Ricky Bandejas. It was his eighth pro bout and he admits that he saw his entire world crumble before him on the mat.
‘My life unfolded in front of me after the loss,’ he says. ‘I broke down. I was on the floor for more than 45 minutes after it, I couldn’t stand up. I was in tears. It was the worst feeling I ever had in my life.
‘But now, I look back on it and see that it can be the best thing that ever happened me because I am determined that I am going to learn from it. I have carried that feeling into the gym as motivation ever since. If I had won, I would be fighting for a world title now. It was tough to deal with that, being taken away, but it might be the best thing for me in the long run.’ Being given the main event on a card that’s live on Sky Sports means that Gallagher may be about to become known outside Ireland’s tight-knit MMA community. For the young man from Strabane, whose father used to drive him to Dublin when he was still at school to train with Kavanagh, and who has always believed that he would realise his dream of becoming the best Mixed Martial Artist in the world, tonight is only the culmination of all the hard work.
‘Everyone has to work for what they want and everyone has to strive for something,’ he insists. ‘That’s why I left school early, because I knew what I wanted from life and others didn’t have the same drive.
‘I am waking up every day, doing something I love and something that I able to make a living out of. I am waking up every day, loving the life that I am living, so I am determined to make the most of this opportunity.’
Gallagher is one of 11 fighters from Kavanagh’s SBG gym on the card in the 3 Arena, as Irish MMA attempts to prove that there is more to it than McGregor. And for a young Tyrone man, it is a chance to establish himself as the leader of the new generation.
OBellator 217 from 3Arena, live on Sky Sports Action from 9pm.