So much for James Gallagher’s Bellator return at home.
Gallagher has pulled out of his bantamweight fight against Brett Johns, which was scheduled for Bellator 285 on Sept. 23 at 3Arena in Dublin. A Bellator official confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Thursday following an initial report from Severe MMA.
The reason for Gallagher’s withdrawal isn’t know. Bellator is in search of a replacement to fight Johns.
A fan favorite in Dublin, Gallagher, 25, was looking to regain some momentum after a tough stretch. In November, Gallagher (11-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) was submitted in front of his home crowd by Patchy Mix. He then was chosen for the Bellator bantamweight grand prix but withdrew due to injury.
Johns (18-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) signed with Bellator in late 2020 after back-to-back wins finished off his UFC deal. He’s split his first two Bellator fights.
Johns took a thinly veiled shot at Gallagher on Twitter for withdrawing from the fight.
21 professional Bouts.
Fought every single soul that was put forward. Win lose or draw I’m there every time. I’ve fought the who’s who and not once have I “shit it”Unlike some……….
But don’t you lot worry, as always, September 23rd I’LL BE THERE.
— Brett Johns (@36Johns) August 11, 2022
With the change, here’s the Bellator 285 lineup:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 4 p.m. ET)
- Benson Henderson vs. Peter Queally
- Melvin Manhoef vs. Yoel Romero
- Ciaran Clarke vs. Georges Sasu
- Mads Burnell vs. Pedro Carvalho
- Leah McCourt vs. Dayana Silva
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 12:30 p.m. ET)
- opponent TBA vs. Brett Johns
- Brian Moore vs. Arivaldo Lima Silva
- Karl Albrektsson vs. Karl Moore
- Darragh Kelly vs. Kye Stevens
- Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Kane Mousah
- Alex Bodnar vs. Kenny Mokhonoana
- Luca Poclit vs. Dante Schiro
- Asael Adjoudj vs. Jordan Barton
