James Gallagher may have enjoyed one of the finest moments of his career in the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, last weekend at Bellator 169, but the target on his back just gets increasingly bigger with every win.

One man currently campaigning hard to face him next year is Englishman Cameron Else, another fighter who enjoyed a big win at the Bellator event. 

Else took just 20 seconds dismantling SBG prospect Dylan Tuke, and in doing so he silenced the otherwise rampant Irish crowd. The finishing flurry came with both men breaking away from a clinch at the edge of the cage. Else landed a big knee to the face, a glancing left elbow and then a follow up right-left hook combination that sent Tuke flat on his back to the mat.

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It was a clinical, devastating finish from Else, who took the fight on short notice at a weight division above his usual bantamweight playing field. The Englishman rolled the dice and won big, and now with names like Paddy Pimblett and Dylan Tuke on his record, he's fast getting a reputation as a prospect killer on the local domestic scene here in Europe.  

But he's not done quite yet.

Since his win on Friday evening, Else has been campaigning hard for SBG's James Gallagher.

Neither Gallagher nor Bellator have responded to Else's request, but for the Englishman it's all simple--give him Gallagher and he will do it all again.

"I put that down as my number-one victory," Else said speaking to Epic MMA after his win against Tuke. "Stepping up in a weight on just two weeks' notice, I make bantamweight easy. I don't cut any water. Stepping up to featherweight against a guy who's got a lot of hype behind him and getting bumped up to Bellator--everything changed.

"It was a big opportunity, my biggest fight to date, and I seized the opportunity. I did what I wanted to do, and it's hard to be a guy who believes in himself as much as I believe in myself."

With the win of his career in the bag and a new Bellator MMA contract, Else didn't hesitate for one second calling out Gallagher.

"Listen, if I'm going to stay in Bellator, then it's simple,"  he said. "It's Dylan's teammate--no disrespect to James, but come on, James. You are fighting a guy in the co-main event who's 1-1. Come fight me. I've got more fights under my belt than what he's got.




"Let's step it up, man. Let's not be fake to the people out there and make out we are that superstar we're not yet."

While Else seems to respect the amount of promotion and hype that Gallagher is getting from Bellator, he does think that the Irishman needs to justify his worth and prove he can do that by taking on stiffer competition.

"Don't get me wrong, all the cameras and the way Bellator are pushing it, they want him to be the next big thing and that," Else said. "Listen though: The only way people become the next big thing is if they take out big things in front of them--that's the only way.

"They know I'm legit. I don't play around. They know I've just come into Ireland on two weeks' notice and fought their home kid and I did what I had to do in 20 seconds." 

Else then had a clear message for Gallagher.

"Take the fight," Else said. "James, tell them you want me. I don't mind. Apparently, Bellator are going to Belfast in February--that's your hometown. I'm game, bring me to your hometown. If not, then why not my neck of the wood in London. I've heard whispers they are going to be there in May."

The challenge has been put down. The next question is: Will Gallagher respond?

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