Leandro Higo and James Gallagher will finally meet for Bellator when they return to Ireland for a show in Belfast on March 22nd. But the Brazilian talent will only truly believe in Bellator's decline when he sees “Stravanimal” with his own eyes during fight week.
Higo and Gallagher had previously been expected to meet, but the fight never materialized. Although this matchup has only been officially announced once by Bellator, Higo claims he had previously signed a three-fight deal to face Gallagher before the SBG Ireland product was removed from the proposed booking. are doing.
Now, Higo said this about mixed martial arts. Trocason Franca In the podcast, he travels into enemy territory and fights all sorts of battles, whether it's with Gallagher or other Irishmen who intervene late.
“The coaches told me, 'He's already lost three times against you, not to mention any other opponent,'” Higo said. “He's always hurt, there's always something going on. It seems like he only fights when he wants to fight. I still can't believe it. I'll only believe it the week he fights. But even if he doesn't fight… Throw some other Irishman in there, any Irishman, because I'm ready for war.”
Since Gallagher moved back up to 145 pounds to win a split decision over James Gonzalez in his most recent Bellator fight, Higo agreed to drop 10 pounds to face Gallagher at featherweight. The Brazilian said his previous fight with Gallagher was originally agreed to at 135 pounds before Gallagher asked for a catchweight.
“He always pointed at me and said I wasn't fat.” [before]Then the manager said, “Leandro, if you agree to the catchweight, he will withdraw,'' Higo said. “Sure enough, he was out after a while due to injury. But I think he's stronger and better now that he doesn't have to cut weight. And I'm fine too. For this fight. I'm not going to lose too much weight. I'm going to compete in both divisions depending on my performance.”
Higo said Bellator floated the idea of facing Gallagher in Belfast, but the promotion ultimately settled on Gallagher vs. Jeremy Kennedy. Kennedy's promotion to a title fight against Higo teammate Patricio Pitbull in the co-main event opened the door for him to face Gallagher again.
“I was already training at 60 percent and I was wary that he might fall because he comes out of the fight a lot and I will take on the Jeremy Kennedy fight,” Higo said. . “I was about to spar on Friday when my manager called and asked me how much I weighed. I knew right away that the fight might be on short notice in the middle. He wanted me to do it. He didn't even ask if it was, he just said the date and the opponent, so I took it.”
Higo choked out Nikita Mikhailov in his most recent Bellator bout in August 2023, bouncing back from a decision loss to Danny Sabatello. Higo previously had a three-fight winning streak against Darrion Caldwell, Ricky Bandejas and Sean Bunch, but is hoping to get back to his winning style in Ireland.
Gallagher has won nine of 11 fights under the Bellator banner, losing only to Bandejas and future bantamweight champion Patchy Mix, but Higo believes he is overrated. .
“I don't know much about him as an athlete,'' Higo says. “But what he says is so much about everyone that everyone has turned against him. He's the most-watched fighter in Bellator. I'm not the only one. Without it, everyone too [calls him out] Because of what he said backstage and on Twitter and things like that. But I think he says too much and gives too much. But I think he's the perfect guy, has a great background, combines karate with takedowns and his strongest weapon, jiu-jitsu. He always fights the same way. ”
Higo said inside Belfast's SSE Arena that he was keen to fight in Emery territory to “silence a lot of people” and vowed to finish off Gallagher within three rounds.
“I don't think this fight will last long,” Higo said. “I'll either knock him out or make him submit, but I'll probably just make him submit. We're both grapplers, so it'll taste better that way. So I know my jiu-jitsu is better. I’m going to prove it to him and send a message to the rest of the department that I’m back.”
