James Gallagher vs Cal Ellenor to headline Bellator Dublin on Feb 22nd 2020

Leading mixed martial arts promotion Bellator MMA today revealed its return to Dublin on Saturday, February 22, with the 3Arena set to host the first European Series event of 2020 in what is sure to be another electric night of live MMA action in the Irish capital.

The main event will see Ireland’s James “The Strabanimal” Gallagher (10-1) face Sunderland’s Cal “Pacino” Ellenor (8-2) in a highly anticipated bantamweight bout, with Gallagher headlining his third Bellator Dublin show inside 12 months.

Tickets for Bellator Dublin: Gallagher vs. Ellenorgo on sale to the general public on Friday, November 29 at 9 a.m. GMT, with a special pre-sale scheduled for Wednesday, November 27 at 9 a.m. GMT. Tickets will be available throughTicketmaster.ie and Bellator.com, as well as the 3Arena box office.

Gallagher returns to the scene of arguably his strongest performances under the Bellator banner, having won his previous two appearances in Dublin via first round submissions. The SBG fighter responded to his first professional loss, in August 2018, by embarking on a three-fight winning streak which left him unbeaten in 2019 and cemented his reputation as Ireland’s latest MMA superstar. Another win in front of a partisan home crowd will give him his 11^th career win from a possible 12, pushing him ever closer towards bantamweight title contention.

Aiming to spoil Gallagher’s self-branded “Jimmy Show” is England’s Cal Ellenor, who steps into the Bellator cage for the first time in over a year, having last fought – and won – at Bellator Newcastle in February. With six of his eight wins coming via submission, fans can expect Ellenor to provide Gallagher with a stiff examination of his ground game, as two closely matched styles collide.

Ellenor has been medically cleared by a licensed physician to return to active competition, following an incorrect reading initially provided by a doctor in South Africa. Bellator MMA, as well as the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations which oversees the organization’s international events, maintains that athletes pass all medical requirements, ensuring they are held to the highest standards in safety and regulation.

Bellator also revealed a pair of lightweight bouts and one light heavyweight bout on the preliminary card, as the event begins to take shape. Providing fans with another Anglo-Irish clash are SBG’s Philip Mulpeter(10-6) and Daniel Crawford (10-3), while Ireland’sRyan Roddy (8-1-1) and Scottish newcomer Chris Duncan (3-0) also go head-to-head at 155lbs. Northern Ireland’s Karl Moore (9-2) and Lithuania’s London Shootfighters product Arunas Andriuskevicus (15-4) face each other at 205lbs.