James Gallagher Pulled From Fight with Patrick Mix at Bellator 258

"The Strabanimal" won't be competing on the upcoming Bellator 258 card after all.

On Friday afternoon, news broke that James Gallagher has been forced to pull out of his scheduled 135-pound clash against Patrick Mix at Bellator 258. MMA Junkie reported first the news that several media outlets then confirmed. The promotion is looking for a short-notice replacement to keep Mix on the card. In the meantime, the Patricky Freire-Peter Queally lightweight clash has been promoted to the main card.

Gallagher (11-1, 8-1 Bellator) is riding a four-bout winning streak after losing to Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 204 in August 2018. In his latest cage appearance, the 24-year-old SBG Ireland representative submitted Callum Ellenor via rear-naked choke in the opening frame of their Bellator Milan encounter.

Mix (13-1, 2-1 Bellator) fell short of capturing the vacant divisional championship when he met Juan Archuleta at Bellator 246 last September. That night, "Patchy" also suffered his first profes-sional defeat in 14 outings. Prior, he scored a couple of submission victories under Bellator's banner at the expense of Ricky Bandejas and Isaiah Chapman before tapping out Yuki Motoya via first-round guillotine choke in a crossover bout at Rizin 20.

Bellator 258 will go down at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on May 7. The main event will feature a 135-pound championship battle between Juan Archuleta and Sergio Pettis. The main card will air on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.