Could Sergio Pettis vs. James Gallagher be next?
The former UFC star made his return this past weekend in the main event against Ricky Bandejas and Pettis pulled off an impressive victory over Bandejas at Bellator 242.
Following his unanimous decision win, Pettis talked about getting the impressive victory over the bantamweight on Friday night and Pettis had no problem throwing shade at fellow fighter James Gallagher during his statement (Transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie):
“I don’t know if it was a statement for a title shot,” Pettis told reporters. “I think it was just another good win on my resume. I beat a tough Ricky Bandejas. I showed Gallagher that’s how you do it, though. That’s how you defend yourself. Those punches and those kicks, if you learn defense, you can block that (expletive).”
Many feel that Gallagher hasn’t fought stiff competition during his tenure in Bellator thus far, and when the bantamweight squared off against Bandejas at Bellator 204, the 23-year-old suffered his first major loss inside of the octagon. Despite taking shots at Gallagher, Pettis isn’t looking to fight him right now as the veteran believes that Gallagher needs to earn the opportunity to face him:
“He’s got to work his way up to get me,” Pettis said. “He’s got a couple more wins under his belt and beat some notable guys. If he can beat Ricky Bandejas then he deserves to fight me, no matter how many followers you got on Instagram.”
As of this writing, Gallagher has yet to respond to Pettis’ comments on Friday. The Bellator fighter previously purposed a bout against Pettis for the vacant bantamweight title earlier this year, with the hopes of silencing the critics once and for all:
“One-hundred percent, (Sergio) Pettis,” Gallagher told MMA Junkie. “Why not? Dublin, October 3. I’m open. I’m running away from fights here, I’m ruling away from fights there, that’s what they keep saying. That’s what they keep saying. I’m fake this, they say, but what am I doing? Is it fake? Do they really think I’m generating all of this power that I got, beating all these people. Is it not after being three, four years in Bellator, and they’re saying the whole thing is boring. It’s not. It’s real. You just can’t accept it. And I’m cool with that. No one needs to accept it but myself.”