James 'The Strabanimal' Gallagher recorded his fifth win as a professional last night with a submission victory over American Anthony Taylor.
In only his second bout with promotion Bellator MMA, the SBG fighter finished the contest in the third round via rear naked choke at Dublin's 3Arena.
"It means the world," he said speaking to Severe MMA after the bout. "I just remember I got the finish, I felt him tapping and I just didn't want to let go. I heard the crowd erupting and I was like 'these are my people, I'm just one of them'.
"I'm just a young lad from Strabane putting everything I have into something I love and to get that reception from my own people, that's something no one will ever take away from me.
"I felt like I didn't get going during the first round and the coaches were telling me just to relax. I felt like I was too relaxed and I started chasing after him.
"I cut him off, caught him with a leg kick and that was it."
There's were mixed results tonight from SBG fighters, with Sinead Kavanagh defeating Elina Kallionidou in their heavyweight bout via unanimous decision.
Brian Moore and Dylan Tuke were both handed first round knockouts by Daniel Weichel and Cameron Else respectively.
Else, who stepped in on short notice to face Tuke, needed less the 30 seconds to finish the fight.
The night was a co-promotion with UK-based BAMMA, which also featured an Irish fighter.
Ballymena's Alan 'The Apprentice' Philpott was beaten by Tom 'Firekid' Duquesnoy, with the Frenchman defending his BAMMA World Bantamweight Title.
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