If indeed the life of a fighter is one that demands an ascetic devotion to diligence and sacrifice, then few could argue that James Gallagher arrived at this realization earlier than most. The undefeated 19-year-old Irish featherweight, who signed with Bellator last month, long ago decided to forgo all the standard trappings of youth to pursue his dream of reaching the zenith of MMA. A member of Team SBG Ireland, which houses UFC veterans Conor McGregor, Gunnar Nelson and Aisling Daly, Gallagher (3-0 MMA, 0-0 Bellator) first came to the attention of coach John Kavanagh when he had just entered his teens. “When I was 13, I was having a fight on a little show, and John was the judge,” Gallagher told MMAjunkie. “The promoter told him to watch out for this kid who was 13 and was fighting a 21-year-old, but John wouldn’t judge the fight and told the guy he was going to ruin the sport of MMA in Ireland. “But I beat the guy, and John was very impressed, and that’s how we met
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