James Gallagher: 'I Don't Give a F*ck, Say What You Want'
James Gallagher: 'I Don't Give a F*ck, Say What You Want'
Rising Bellator star James Gallagher gives insight into his personal mindset and his career trajectory.
In under a month, Straight Blast Gym (SBG) featherweight prospect James Gallagher will step inside the Bellator MMA cage for the third time when he takes on Kirill Medvedovsky Feb. 24 at Bellator 173.
It was only last month that Gallagher picked up his second win in the promotion, defeating Anthony Taylor at Bellator 169 in Dublin, Ireland. Reflecting on the win now, Gallagher still recalls the magical night in front of his home crowd and says it will be one he remembers for the rest of his life.
"I'm delighted to be fighting in Belfast," Gallagher said. "In my home country again, Bellator are coming back to Ireland. It's very understandable that Bellator are going to come back to Ireland after the last show in Dublin. It was a show that blew all the rest of the out the water.
"It was something else, you know? It was kinda something I've kinda thought about and kinda dreamed about. When you walk out and it's really there though and see all these people that are just there for me, it's just one of those moments I'll watch back in a few years time and think like wow that's amazing, people are just supporting me doing something that I love.
That's an unreal feeling. Walking out, just in front of the whole place--I just saw a video of it the other day, and I was in shock nearly at how the crowd reacted."
At just 20 years old, a man of Gallagher's tender age could've easily been overwhelmed by the occasion. Not the man from Strabane though. He recalled his walkout in Dublin and described how he remained calm and focused on the job ahead.
"I'm kinda in it [the moment] but kinda not," Gallagher said. "When you walk out and you see everyone, it's kinda like, 'Yeah, this is amazing, but I've got a task at hand. I've got something to finish here and I've got to finish what I've got in front of me.'
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPxeR1ph0fx/" hide_caption="0"]
"When you walk out and you see it all, it's easy to get caught up in it all and the next thing, you know, there's a guy coming out trying to take your head off firing shots. You need to be able to switch off and just say, 'It's time to fight.'"
Having been booked previously to fight Medvedovsky at Bellator 164 in Tel Aviv, Israel--his opponent's hometown--Gallagher now finds himself matched up again with the same man in his own home country of Northern Ireland. Having been pulled from the previous fight for the Dublin card, Gallagher said he wouldn't be expecting things to go any differently.
"He is good and I respect his skill set," Gallagher said. "He's experienced in there and he's a jiu-jitsu brown belt, but I don't feel like he's got anything for me. I've seen it all. Anything he's going to throw I've already seen it, and that's the way the fight will play out.
"If he thinks he's a brown belt then let's go the floor and let's see who has the best jiu-jitsu. I'm just going out, and I'm just focusing on me and I'm just winning. It's the same shit, isn't it?"
Fighting out of SBG Ireland under head coach John Kavanagh at 145 pounds, the comparison to Conor McGregor is an easy one to make. Gallagher, while aware of the benchmark, is happy with just being himself and says he doesn't let the comparisons distract him.
"I feel like that's kinda happening, especially after Dublin," Gallagher said about whether he was able to get his own personality across. "I feel like in the lead up everyone was saying the same shit, but after that I think people just saw I was just me, you know, and that's the way it is.
"But, whatever, I'm always just going to get it. People saying I'm like Conor or that that I haven't fought this guy or that I have to prove this. It's easy to get caught up in it and think that I have to prove this and think that I have to be like the total opposite, but I'm just comfortable with people saying that. I'm still going to fight next month, and I'm still going to make more money than you have done in the last year in one fight. I'm just comfortable--I don't give a f*ck just say what you want."
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPugiJ2A7_Z/" hide_caption="0"]
Listen to the full interview with Gallagher here:
It was only last month that Gallagher picked up his second win in the promotion, defeating Anthony Taylor at Bellator 169 in Dublin, Ireland. Reflecting on the win now, Gallagher still recalls the magical night in front of his home crowd and says it will be one he remembers for the rest of his life.
"I'm delighted to be fighting in Belfast," Gallagher said. "In my home country again, Bellator are coming back to Ireland. It's very understandable that Bellator are going to come back to Ireland after the last show in Dublin. It was a show that blew all the rest of the out the water.
"It was something else, you know? It was kinda something I've kinda thought about and kinda dreamed about. When you walk out and it's really there though and see all these people that are just there for me, it's just one of those moments I'll watch back in a few years time and think like wow that's amazing, people are just supporting me doing something that I love.
That's an unreal feeling. Walking out, just in front of the whole place--I just saw a video of it the other day, and I was in shock nearly at how the crowd reacted."
At just 20 years old, a man of Gallagher's tender age could've easily been overwhelmed by the occasion. Not the man from Strabane though. He recalled his walkout in Dublin and described how he remained calm and focused on the job ahead.
"I'm kinda in it [the moment] but kinda not," Gallagher said. "When you walk out and you see everyone, it's kinda like, 'Yeah, this is amazing, but I've got a task at hand. I've got something to finish here and I've got to finish what I've got in front of me.'
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPxeR1ph0fx/" hide_caption="0"]
"When you walk out and you see it all, it's easy to get caught up in it all and the next thing, you know, there's a guy coming out trying to take your head off firing shots. You need to be able to switch off and just say, 'It's time to fight.'"
Having been booked previously to fight Medvedovsky at Bellator 164 in Tel Aviv, Israel--his opponent's hometown--Gallagher now finds himself matched up again with the same man in his own home country of Northern Ireland. Having been pulled from the previous fight for the Dublin card, Gallagher said he wouldn't be expecting things to go any differently.
"He is good and I respect his skill set," Gallagher said. "He's experienced in there and he's a jiu-jitsu brown belt, but I don't feel like he's got anything for me. I've seen it all. Anything he's going to throw I've already seen it, and that's the way the fight will play out.
"If he thinks he's a brown belt then let's go the floor and let's see who has the best jiu-jitsu. I'm just going out, and I'm just focusing on me and I'm just winning. It's the same shit, isn't it?"
Fighting out of SBG Ireland under head coach John Kavanagh at 145 pounds, the comparison to Conor McGregor is an easy one to make. Gallagher, while aware of the benchmark, is happy with just being himself and says he doesn't let the comparisons distract him.
"I feel like that's kinda happening, especially after Dublin," Gallagher said about whether he was able to get his own personality across. "I feel like in the lead up everyone was saying the same shit, but after that I think people just saw I was just me, you know, and that's the way it is.
"But, whatever, I'm always just going to get it. People saying I'm like Conor or that that I haven't fought this guy or that I have to prove this. It's easy to get caught up in it and think that I have to prove this and think that I have to be like the total opposite, but I'm just comfortable with people saying that. I'm still going to fight next month, and I'm still going to make more money than you have done in the last year in one fight. I'm just comfortable--I don't give a f*ck just say what you want."
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPugiJ2A7_Z/" hide_caption="0"]
Listen to the full interview with Gallagher here: