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Roman Salazar thought it was a joke when his ex-manager texted him about a prospective fight against James Gallagher at Bellator Dublin, and replied with a “LOL.”
Clearly, the 31-year-old from Arizona did not think much of his chances to be chosen for the fight. But in an interesting turn of events, Salazar would be doing just that in the main event of Bellator Dublin in Dublin, Ireland.
MMA Junkie reported on what he had to say about the upcoming bout.
Salazar describes it as a “rollercoaster ride”
Originally, Cal Ellenor was supposed to fight Gallagher in the Bellator Europe 4 main event, but he was forced to withdraw due to some brain-related medical issues, clearing the stage for Roman Salazar.
Salazar admits that getting the text from his ex-manager, with whom he had not worked for over three years, did not make him take it very seriously.
“Rollercoaster ride is the perfect way to describe it. What a wave of emotions. (It was) kind of funny the way it happened. Last Tuesday night, I got a text message from my old manager who told me, ‘Hey man, James Gallagher doesn’t have an opponent. I’m going to reach out to Bellator for you.’
But before 24 hours even passed, he got a call back from the manager early next morning, confirming the fight.
Salazar hints at his game plan for Gallagher
After having gone through Gallagher’s previous fights over the last one week, the biggest conclusion that Salazar drew was not to let his emotions get better of him. According to him, winning a fight against “The Strabanimal” was all about composure, because with someone as “crafty” as Gallagher, even one mistake can cost the entire fight.
“It’s kind of funny whenever I watch them fight James. They truly dislike him as they’re fighting him. That’s the one thing you can’t do. You can’t fight angry. You can’t do it. It fogs your vision. That’s the last thing you want to have happen, especially with an opponent as crafty as James. All he needs is one mistake to hop on your back and choke the life out of you.”
Although Salazar did not share any particular fight-ending strategy that he might have for Gallagher, he did predict that at the end of the bout, his hand would be the one in the air.
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