Meet James Gallagher, a 16-year-old from Strabane who has his eyes set on the very top.
In the early days of MMA you had guys transfer in from all sorts of other disciplines. Now you have a generation coming up who train as MMA fighters from the very start of their careers.
James Gallagher, a 16-year-old from Strabane is one of those. Into MMA since he was 12 he moved to Dublin when he was 15 to train full time with Irish MMA guru John Kavanagh at his Straight Blast Gym, the same place that produced UFC star Conor McGreor and Cage Warriors champ Cathal Pendred.
With one eye on claiming a world Jui Jitsu title in June, followed by a UFC crown down the line, the youngster certainly talks a good game and with the years of experience, and the best team in Irish MMA behind him, we wouldn’t bet against him backing up the talk with actions either.
Shot as Episode 1 of Thinkhouse’s Youth Culture Series, it’s a promising start.
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