“The Strabanimal” won’t be competing on the upcoming Bellator 258
card after all.
On Friday afternoon, news broke that James
Gallagher has been forced to pull out of his scheduled
135-pound clash against Patrick Mix
at
Bellator 258.
MMA Junkie reported first the news that several media outlets
then confirmed. The promotion is looking for a short-notice
replacement to keep Mix on the card. In the meantime, the Patricky
Freire–Peter
Queally lightweight clash has been promoted to the main
card.
Gallagher (11-1, 8-1 Bellator) is riding a four-bout winning streak
after losing to Ricky
Bandejas at Bellator 204 in August 2018. In his latest cage
appearance, the 24-year-old
SBG Ireland representative submitted Callum
Ellenor via rear-naked choke in the opening frame of their
Bellator Milan encounter.
Mix (13-1, 2-1 Bellator) fell short of capturing the vacant
divisional championship when he met Juan
Archuleta at Bellator 246 last September. That night, “Patchy”
also suffered his first profes-sional defeat in 14 outings. Prior,
he scored a couple of submission victories under Bellator’s banner
at the expense of Ricky
Bandejas and Isaiah
Chapman before tapping out Yuki Motoya
via first-round guillotine choke in a crossover bout at Rizin
20.
Bellator 258 will go down at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville,
Connecticut, on May 7. The main event will feature a 135-pound
championship battle between Juan
Archuleta and Sergio
Pettis. The main card will air on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m.
PT.