Aaron Chalmers heads raft of announcements as tickets go on sale for Bellator Dublin

Leading mixed martial arts promotion Bellator MMA today revealed a host of exciting bouts for its return to Dublin on Saturday, February 22, 2020, as the highly-anticipated card begins to take shape.

Joining headliners James Gallagher and Cal Ellenor on the main card at the 3Arena are Aaron “The Joker” Chalmers (5-1) and Austin Clem (3-1), with a number of homegrown Irish fighters added to the preliminary card.

Tickets for Bellator Dublin: Gallagher vs. Ellenor are on sale now through Ticketmaster.ie and Bellator.com, as well as the 3Arena box office.

Chalmers, who has forged a successful career in mixed martial arts following a career in hit reality TV show Geordie Shore, returns for his fourth Bellator bout and his first outside the UK. The Newcastle fighter, who has won five of his six professional bouts, is sure to bring a vocal contingent of British supporters to Dublin for a bout which could see him produce his first back-to-back wins under the promotion. He will be aiming to reproduce the form that has seen him secure first and second-round submission victories over Ash Griffiths and Fred Freeman, respectively.

Standing opposite him in the Bellator cage is Missouri’s Austin Clem, who makes his promotional debut in what is sure to be an electric atmosphere in Ireland. Clem has won three of his four professional bouts prior to signing for Bellator, and with his two most recent wins coming via submission, fans can expect to see a battle of wits as both fighters look to take the bout to the floor. The former Walkout FC star is a quick finisher, with all three of his wins coming via submission, and will be confident in the same result against Chalmers.

Bellator also announced a host of prelim bouts, with a mixture of homegrown and overseas talent giving the first event of the 2020 Bellator European Series an international feel.

SBG Ireland’s Will Fleury (6-2) goes up against Justin Moore (9-4) in an Anglo-Irish middleweight clash. Fleury has fought twice at the 3Arena under Bellator and will be hoping to make it two wins from three, having followed up a second-round submission win over Shaun Taylor in February with a unanimous decision loss to Norbert Novenyi in September. Moore made his promotional debut in June at Bellator London, losing out to another Irish fighter in Charlie Ward. He will be hoping to silence the Dublin crowd by securing his first Bellator win against Fleury.

Another SBG product, Richie Smullen (5-1-1), fights on his third Bellator Dublin card and is aiming to maintain a perfect record in the Irish capital. The Irish featherweight recorded back-to-back Dublin wins against Adam Gustab and Sean Tobin in 2019 and faces England’s Ranjeet Baria (3-1), who is searching for his first win under the promotion, having made his Bellator debut in Newcastle earlier this year.

Elsewhere on the card, Sweden’s Oliver “The Future” Enkamp (8-2) goes up against USA’s Lewis “The Foot” Long (17-5) in an exciting welterweight matchup; Ireland’s Danni Neilan (1-0) faces fellow women’s strawweight Chiara “Beasty Barbie” Penco (4-1) of Italy; and another Irish fighter, Blaine O’Driscoll (7-3), meets Morocco’s Ezzoubair Bouarsa (7-1) at flyweight.

With another sell-out crowd expected, Bellator Dublin: Gallagher vs. Ellenor promises to be an unforgettable night of MMA action for fans.

Further bout announcements are expected in the coming weeks.

Bellator Dublin Fight Card:

Bantamweight main event: James Gallagher (10-1) vs. Cal Ellenor (8-2)

Welterweight bout: Aaron Chalmers (5-1) vs. Austin Clem (3-1)

Preliminary Fight Card:

Welterweight bout: Oliver Enkamp (8-2) vs. Lewis Long (17-5)

Lightweight bout: Philip Mulpeter (10-6) vs. Daniel Crawford (10-3)

Lightweight bout: Ryan Roddy (8-1-1) vs. Chris Duncan (5-0)

Light heavyweight bout: Karl Moore (9-2) vs. Arunas Andriuskevicus (15-4)

Middleweight bout: Will Fleury (6-2) vs. Justin Moore (9-4)

Women’s strawweight bout: Danni Neilan (1-0) vs. Chiara Penco (4-1)