‘Strabanimal’ relishing return to action in Dubai tomorrow night

JAMES ‘The Strabanimal’ Gallagher is relishing his 971 Fighting Championship debut in Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena on Saturday night when he will take on Fabricio Soares in a featherweight clash.

The 28-year-old Tyrone native has been out of competitive action for some time, having not fought in the cage since his final encounter in the Bellator ranks, an unanimous decision defeat in Belfast to Leandro Higo back in March 2024.

But having had a long break due to many mitigating factors, Gallagher is hoping this opportunity with 971 gives him the chance to become the best he can be in the coming years.

“Sometimes things take time and I had to figure that out, get the right people behind me, get away from other people and get on my way,” he explained.

“I’m in no rush, I’m in my prime. I’m 28 years-old, I’ve been in this game for donkey’s, for 16 years I’ve been fighting, so I just want to get active. It’s about keeping going, getting better and seeing what levels I can reach. But to do that, I need to get activity because the more I fight the better I get.

“People always think [a lack of action in the cage] makes you hungry, but if I wasn’t hungry I would have stopped it years ago. I’m always hungry, it’s more so about me getting better – let me get better.

“When you fight every so often it becomes like a routine and that’s how I want it to be because when you have those times off it isn’t like that, so I’m just trying to get it back like that, to get active, so that I can become the best I can be.”

Despite having had such a long break in his career, Gallagher is confident of making a winning return to action, although he admits it will be far from easy against his 33-year-old Brazillian foe, who has 14 wins and two defeats in his professional career.

“He’s very, very good,” James admitted.

“I’m not taking him lightly. He has 14 wins, he’s been fighting for around the same length of time as me and he’s a very, very difficult opponent.

“It’s no easy task at all but that’s what I’m doing this for, I’m here to fight the best in the world and that’s what I have been doing for the last eight to 10 years and he’s up there.

“He’s no easy task for me but I’ve put the work in and that’s what I’m here to do.”