Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Gallagher calls out champion
STRABANE’S James Gallagher angered featherweight champion Patricio Freire following his sensational win at Bellator 180 in Madison Square Garden on Saturday. After forcing a first round submission on Chinzo Machida the 20-year-old claimed that he would be champion by the time he fights again at the iconic venue in his postfihgt interview. “Look up there,” said Gallagher, gesturing towards the effigies of Bellator champions that were on display around the cage. “The next time I’m here, my picture will be up there with the belt over my shoulder!” Moments after, Freire took to Twitter to declare an interest in fighting Gallagher in Ireland. He tweeted: “I’ll fight you in Croke Park. Bring your daddy (Conor Mcgregor) to see you get beat up from the front row.” When asked about the champion’s reaction to what he said, Gallagher insisted that he would be interested in taking the title from Freire. “Tell him to try it,” said Gallagher. “He should bring his belt with him too because I’m going to take it. “They all know I’m coming. It’s only a matter of time. I’m young, I’m hungry and I’ve got everything. I’ve got the team and I’ve got a family that supports me. I’ve got motivation that none of these guys have. They’re all on their way out.” Gallagher is one of the most polarizing figures in Irish MMA, but he continues to prove his skillset every time he takes to the cage. Moving to 7-0 with the win over veteran Machida, the Irishman insisted that he is ready to follow in the footsteps of the great prizefighters following his debut at Madison Square Garden. “I think about guys like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson that were here before me. I feel like I’m following in footsteps of the greats. It’s my time now.”