Bellator announces major changes to Belfast card, one title fight added

It appears as though the upcoming Bellator Belfast event will have a massive addition as the promotion announced major changes to the card, including a title fight.

The promotion took to their social media and announced that the featherweight bout between Jeremy Kennedy and Ireland's James Gallagher had been scrapped, but not because of an injury. Instead, both fighters will be competing against different opponents at the event.

Bellator announced that reigning featherweight champion Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire will defend his title against Kennedy, who had been awaiting a title shot for over a year. The Canadian was regarded as the next contender in line, but the Brazilian opted to challenge then-bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis in an attempt to make history by becoming the first three-division champion.

'Pitbull' was most recently scheduled to fight at the PFL vs. Bellator event, but both opponents, Jesus Pinedo and then Gabriel Braga, were forced to withdraw from the event, so he was removed entirely as well. Kennedy, on the other hand, is currently riding a three-fight winning streak that includes wins over Emmanuel Sanchez, Aaron Pico, and Pedro Carvalho.

Gallagher will also be remaining on the card but will now be fighting Leandro Higo instead. The two had previously been scheduled to fight last March, but the Irishman was forced to withdraw due to an injury.

The Brazilian has had an impressive run in Bellator and most recently bounced back from his loss to Danny Sabatello by earning a first-round submission win over Nikita Mikhailov. It remains to be seen whether he will continue competing at 145 pounds after Bellator Belfast, as he has had some issues making weight and has missed weight in two of his last four bouts.

It will be interesting to see what will be next for both Gallagher and Higo as the Irishman's original bout against 'JBC' was believed to be a title eliminator, but Pico's recent win over Henry Corrales and the outcome of 'Pitbull' vs. Kennedy could change those plans.