With Cris Lencioni suffering a medical emergency earlier this month that left him in intensive care (you can read more and Contribute to recovery efforts via GoFundMe), Ireland’s James Gallagher has a new opponent for Bellator 298 in August.
Gallagher (11-2) will now take on James Gonzalez (10-6) in the event on August 11, 2023 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed the booking to Cageside Press on Monday, following an initial report by MMA fighting.
Gallagher will look to bounce back from the loss to current interim bantamweight champion Patchy Mix in the fight. StrabAnimal has seen many matches fail since its November 2021 setback.
Gonzalez, who won a match at the PFL Challenger Series tournament earlier this year, has returned to the Bellator MMA cage after suffering a loss against Aaron Pico. Gonazalez has also done a stint in Cage Fury FC, competing for both the Bantamweight and Featherweight titles.
Bellator 298 is headlined by Wiltroyets Logan Storley and Brennan Ward. The card currently contains the following reported fights:
- Logan Storley vs. Brennan Ward
- Valentine Moldavsky vs. Steve Morey
- Dalton Rosta vs. Aaron Jeffery
- Sydney Outlaw vs. Islam Mamedov
- James Gallagher vs. James Gonzalez
- Lucas Brennan vs. Weber Almeida
- Leandro Hugo vs. Nikita Mikhailov
- Diana Avsaragova vs. Justin Kish
- Alfie Davis vs. Elon Cruz
- Diana Silva vs. Katerina Shakalova
- Max Rozhskopf vs. Jairo Pacheco
- Jerrell Hodge vs. Marserly Alves da Silva
- Michael Blokus vs. Ellie Mefford
- Muhammed Berkhamov vs. Dante Shiro