By the Numbers: James Gallagher vs. Jeremiah Labiano
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James Gallagher bounced back from his first professional defeat by stopping Steven Graham. But the real test may be coming in the form of Filipino-American Jeremiah Labiano. The two featherweights will see action at Bellator London on June 22. Get a hint on the fight’s outcome through the numbers below.
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Age and professional experience
At 32 years of age, Labiano is 10 years older than Gallagher. The former was born on Nov. 18, 1986 while the latter was born on Oct. 24, 1996.When Gallagher made his professional debut on Oct. 17, 2015, Labiano was almost two months removed from his maiden fight at Bellator, where he decisioned Alvin Cacdac. That was already his 12th professional fight. Labiano debuted professionally on Dec. 10, 2011 at Impact MMA – Recognition, knocking out Derrick Easterling in the second round. Since then, he has fought in various regional promotions, most notably at Pacific Xtreme Combat. He has appeared at Bellator five times, even headlining Bellator 188. His overall record is 12-6.
Before Bellator, where he’s had six bouts, Gallagher fought for
Cage Kings, Chaos Fighting Championships and BAMMA. He’s lost only
once in nine professional fights.
First-round finishes
Leave it to Gallagher to finish fights before the second-round bell sounds. It’s in fact one of the reasons why he has created a lot of buzz. Of his eight victories, only two have come outside of the first round.Labiano may not be as much of a quick starter, but he is no stranger to ending fights early. He has racked up three victories in the first round. “The Kid” is actually coming off a first-round TKO of Justin Smitley at Bellator 206.
Wins by knockout
In an interview leading to their match, Labiano said that Gallagher only has one knockout in his fights, but that’s himself getting knocked out. True enough, Gallagher has yet to stop anyone by KO or TKO, whereas Labiano has tallied four. He starched Junior Villanueva, Justin Santistevan and as aforementioned, Easterling and Smitley.Wins by submission
What Gallagher seems to lack in knockout power, he more than makes up for with his submission acumen. “The Strabanimal” has a knack for choking people out, including Dennis Ahern, Declan McAleenan, Gerard Gilmore, Anthony Taylor, Kirill Medvedovsky, Chinzo Machida and most recently, Graham.Labiano is no slouch on the ground either. He is in fact a jiu-jitsu black belt with four victories by submission. He’s choked out Tony Boyles, Keith Carson, Bernard Turner and Adam Calderon. Nobody has ever submitted him in mixed martial arts competition.
Career losses
The more experienced Labiano has lost six times as a professional. He bowed to Gabriel Carrasco, Joe Soto, Ricky Simon, Trevin Jones, Josh San Diego and Noel Lahat. Gallagher, as aforementioned, has suffered only one defeat. When the Irishman was steadily building momentum after four straight victories at Bellator, he was stopped via head kick and punches by then promotional newcomer Ricky Bandejas.Related Articles