A massive fight has been booked in Bellator‘s bantamweight division. MMA DNA was the first to report that the promotion has finalized a matchup between James Gallagher (11-1) and Patrick “Patchy” Mix (13-1).
The matchup will take place at Bellator 258 which will take place on May 7th. James Gallagher was turning into Bellator’s version of Conor McGregor just a couple of years ago. The brash Irish contender is actually a teammate of The Notorious one.
Gallagher had confidence and he was trying to ride the Irish momentum of Conor McGregor. However, the path wasn’t as smooth for Gallagher. Gallagher was being fast-tracked by Bellator, but then he ran into Ricky Bandejas after an injury layoff.
Bandejas shocked everyone by stopping the Irishman in the first round. Gallagher took the loss well and has since rebounded extremely well. Since that loss, Gallagher has gone 4-0 inside the Bellator cage.
Only won of those fights has gone the distance. This matchup against Patchy Mix is the biggest fight of Gallagher’s career. Should he win this matchup, he’s likely going to get a shot at the bantamweight title. Juan Archuleta is scheduled to defend his title against Sergio Pettis that same evening.Â
Bellator title eliminator?
Standing across from Gallagher on May 7th will be Patrick “Patchy” Mix. Mix just fought for the bantamweight title back at Bellator 246 against Archuleta. Early on, it looked like Mix was going to become the Bantamweight champion.
The grappling of Patchy Mix is something to behold. His incredible skill on the mat allowed him to control the early portions of his title fight. However, his gas tank ultimately failed him and Juan Archuleta captured the Bellator bantamweight title by decision.
Now, Mix will have his opportunity at redemption. It’s clear that Bellator is setting this up as a title eliminator with the main event being the bantamweight title fight. Whoever wins this matchup on May 7th is going to be the first in line for a crack at whoever wins the belt in the main event.