James Gallagher: Observing the 'Strabanimal'
James Gallagher: Observing the 'Strabanimal'
By Jim EdwardsThis time last week, I could've written what I knew about James Gallagher on a beer coaster.19 years old, from Ireland, fighting out of Straig
By Jim Edwards
This time last week, I could've written what I knew about James Gallagher on a beer coaster.
19 years old, from Ireland, fighting out of Straight Blast Gym, a big prospect at 145lbs, and making his Bellator debut in London. I watched his BAMMA fights, but by no means could I recite his life story.
Last week, I had my first real interactions with the man nicknamed the "Strabanimal." Although I turned up at Bellator 158 expecting to be impressed by his performance, I didn't know I would leave London thinking he was something special for everything that I saw him do outside of it.
It's Friday, at 11:30AM. The mood inside the Cafe De Paris nightclub in Leicester Square is as frenetic as the streets outside.
It's the scene of the Bellator 158 weigh-ins. With just 30 minutes to go until the official readings are taken, a collection of nervous-looking men dressed in only their underpants are gathered around the scales to check their weights.
One-by-one, these MMA veterans stand on the scales. Their eyes are bulging, and their skin is noticeably pale and dehydrated. As they fret over losing the last few pounds, I finally see James Gallagher, who is standing across the room from me.
Gallagher's decked out in a baseball cap, but I can still clearly see his smile beaming as takes in the sight of the gathered media and his fellow Bellator stars.
Cool, calm and collected, I'd never seen a fighter so happy to be weighing in before.
Thirty minutes later, the chilled-out, starry-eyed Gallagher is no longer present as he takes the scale with the knowledge that his opponent missed weight by 2.3lbs.
He weighs in at 144.7lbs, and proceeds to tell the weigh-in master of ceremonies that he '"was the professional in here and that his opponent was amateur."
Then, he marches toward his opponent with a menacing look, and stares him in the eye before gently pushing him in the chest. His opponent reacts with rage, but Gallagher simply steps back and allows himself to be ushered away by the oncoming officials.
As he's led away, he flashes that smile again at his opponent. Mission accomplished; Gallagher won this round of mind games. He got the reaction he wanted from his opponent.
It's now 8PM on Saturday, and Gallagher is making the walk to the cage.
His music is playing, but I can't tell you for the life of me what it is--it's drowned out by "Ole" chants in the O2 Arena in London as he makes his way down the ramp with his hands stretched out for the crowd.
The smile from the day before is all over Gallagher's face. He wears a tri-color flag proudly, and acknowledges the pocket of his fans to one side of the cage carrying his banners.
It's a great sight to see: a young man living his dream in front of your eyes.
The Bellator show has wrapped, and as I make my way over from cageside, I see the Gallagher for the first time since his fight. Things hadn't gone to plan, but a win is a win despite having to endure 15 minutes of chasing his opponent around a cage.
He's standing in front of me with one Bellator ring girl under each arm smiling, of course, and posing for a photo that would later surface on social media.
He then makes his way to the back, and a Bellator official grabs him for me for a quick interview.
"It wasn't a great performance; not half of my ability," he said while smiling. "The guy just kept running away, and I should've shut him down and finished him. When I had him on the ground, I should've finished him, but hey--I'm 19, I'm young, and it happens. I'll go back to the gym, and come back better, stronger, and show my full ability."
Halfway through his next answer, a jovial Matt Mitrione appears behind the camera, and Gallagher can't help himself. In the middle of our interview, Gallagher turns his attention to Mitrione flashing him a cheeky grin.
This happened again when Michael Venom Page walked past just seconds later. While it's normally annoying for any interviewer to be interrupted, these interactions were more telling than any of the questions I'd asked the young Irishman.
This was a man happy to be in the company he was, but at the same time, also in the total belief he belonged there.
Half an hour later, I'm walking out of the front arena when Gallagher passes through with three young guys likely destined for one of the nearest bars or nightclubs.
It's a reminder to myself that Gallagher's only 19. Watching him for the first time last week made me a believer. If he can maintain his love for the sport and remain humble about his ability, he's destined for great things.
This time last week, I could've written what I knew about James Gallagher on a beer coaster.
19 years old, from Ireland, fighting out of Straight Blast Gym, a big prospect at 145lbs, and making his Bellator debut in London. I watched his BAMMA fights, but by no means could I recite his life story.
Last week, I had my first real interactions with the man nicknamed the "Strabanimal." Although I turned up at Bellator 158 expecting to be impressed by his performance, I didn't know I would leave London thinking he was something special for everything that I saw him do outside of it.
* * *
It's Friday, at 11:30AM. The mood inside the Cafe De Paris nightclub in Leicester Square is as frenetic as the streets outside.
It's the scene of the Bellator 158 weigh-ins. With just 30 minutes to go until the official readings are taken, a collection of nervous-looking men dressed in only their underpants are gathered around the scales to check their weights.
One-by-one, these MMA veterans stand on the scales. Their eyes are bulging, and their skin is noticeably pale and dehydrated. As they fret over losing the last few pounds, I finally see James Gallagher, who is standing across the room from me.
Gallagher's decked out in a baseball cap, but I can still clearly see his smile beaming as takes in the sight of the gathered media and his fellow Bellator stars.
Cool, calm and collected, I'd never seen a fighter so happy to be weighing in before.
Thirty minutes later, the chilled-out, starry-eyed Gallagher is no longer present as he takes the scale with the knowledge that his opponent missed weight by 2.3lbs.
He weighs in at 144.7lbs, and proceeds to tell the weigh-in master of ceremonies that he '"was the professional in here and that his opponent was amateur."
Then, he marches toward his opponent with a menacing look, and stares him in the eye before gently pushing him in the chest. His opponent reacts with rage, but Gallagher simply steps back and allows himself to be ushered away by the oncoming officials.
As he's led away, he flashes that smile again at his opponent. Mission accomplished; Gallagher won this round of mind games. He got the reaction he wanted from his opponent.
* * *
It's now 8PM on Saturday, and Gallagher is making the walk to the cage.
His music is playing, but I can't tell you for the life of me what it is--it's drowned out by "Ole" chants in the O2 Arena in London as he makes his way down the ramp with his hands stretched out for the crowd.
The smile from the day before is all over Gallagher's face. He wears a tri-color flag proudly, and acknowledges the pocket of his fans to one side of the cage carrying his banners.
It's a great sight to see: a young man living his dream in front of your eyes.
The Bellator show has wrapped, and as I make my way over from cageside, I see the Gallagher for the first time since his fight. Things hadn't gone to plan, but a win is a win despite having to endure 15 minutes of chasing his opponent around a cage.
He's standing in front of me with one Bellator ring girl under each arm smiling, of course, and posing for a photo that would later surface on social media.
He then makes his way to the back, and a Bellator official grabs him for me for a quick interview.
"It wasn't a great performance; not half of my ability," he said while smiling. "The guy just kept running away, and I should've shut him down and finished him. When I had him on the ground, I should've finished him, but hey--I'm 19, I'm young, and it happens. I'll go back to the gym, and come back better, stronger, and show my full ability."
Halfway through his next answer, a jovial Matt Mitrione appears behind the camera, and Gallagher can't help himself. In the middle of our interview, Gallagher turns his attention to Mitrione flashing him a cheeky grin.
This happened again when Michael Venom Page walked past just seconds later. While it's normally annoying for any interviewer to be interrupted, these interactions were more telling than any of the questions I'd asked the young Irishman.
This was a man happy to be in the company he was, but at the same time, also in the total belief he belonged there.
* * *
Half an hour later, I'm walking out of the front arena when Gallagher passes through with three young guys likely destined for one of the nearest bars or nightclubs.
It's a reminder to myself that Gallagher's only 19. Watching him for the first time last week made me a believer. If he can maintain his love for the sport and remain humble about his ability, he's destined for great things.