The Bellator cage is all set to return to London, with a twice-scrapped bantamweight battle scheduled for its main event.
Irish bantamweight James Gallagher has twice been booked to face Englishman Cal Ellenor in Dublin, at Bellator Europe 4 and Bellator Europe 7 but, on both occasions, the bout fell by the wayside.
Gallagher (10-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) was set to face Ellenor (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at Bellator Europe 4 in September 2019, but issues with Ellenor’s medicals forced him off the card and Gallagher defeated his last-minute replacement, Roman Salazar, in 35 seconds at the 3Arena.
The pair were then set to meet at Bellator Europe 7 on February 22, but a back injury to “The Stranimal” meant the second attempt to match the pair was put on ice once again.
Now Bellator officials are hoping the third time will be a charm, with the pair now set to face off in the main event of Bellator Europe 8 at London’s SSE Arena on Saturday, May 16.
Also set to feature on the card is former England international rugby player James Haskell, who will be making his MMA debut on home soil.
The 34-year-old former rugby ace has played in two Rugby World Cups and won the six nations twice with England in 2016 and 2017, but is no stranger to MMA-based training having worked extensively with the acclaimed London Shootfighters gym for years as part of his cross-training regimen.
Now the former rugby flanker, who retired from the sport in 2019, is taking the plunge and looking to parlay his athletic talents to the Bellator cage against an opponent to be named in due course.
Confirmed fights for Bellator Europe 8 include:
- James Gallagher vs. Cal Ellenor
- James Haskell vs. TBC
