The loaded Bellator 258 main card has taken a hit.
Bellator officials confirmed to MMA Fighting on Friday that James Gallagher has been forced out of his scheduled bout with Patchy Mix at the May 7 event for undisclosed reasons. The promotion is actively looking for an opponent to face Mix on the card, which will take place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. MMA Junkie first reported Gallagher’s scratch.
Mix hinted at the scratch on a Facebook post Friday afternoon.
“As expected, the boy went f*cking running,” Mix posted.
The 27-year-old Mix will be looking to bounce back following the first professional loss of his career in September. Mix took on Juan Archuleta for the vacant Bellator bantamweight title in an entertaining fight that saw Archuleta win the championship via unanimous decision. “No Love” holds promotional finishes of Ricky Bandejas and Isaiah Chapman, as well as a first-round submission win over Yuki Motoya at RIZIN 20 in December 2019.
Pending visa finalization, the scheduled bout between Patricky Freire and Peter Queally will be bumped up to the main card, an official confirmed to MMA Fighting. The matchup between Freire and Queally was originally slated to headline Bellator Dublin in October before the event was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Bellator 258 will be headlined by a bantamweight title bout between Archuleta and Sergio Pettis, and will also feature the final opening round matchup of the light heavyweight grand prix between Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson.
