Saturday afternoon saw a packed house in Dublin, Ireland, as Bellator 217 took place in the 3Arena. For the most part, the card consisted of SBG Ireland fighters, headlined by James Gallagher against heavy underdog Steven Graham. As expected, Gallagher got back on track after suffering a shock KO loss to Ricky Bandejas. The Irishman was able to take the back, lock in a body-triangle, and get a standing rear-naked choke just halfway through round one. Gallagher improves to 7-1 in his career, and he could move up to featherweight to participate in Bellator’s upcoming sixteen-man tournament.
The co-main event was a split decision win for former SBG fighter Myles Price over Peter Queally, while undefeated prospect Kiefer Crosbie picked up his own rear-naked choke finish, getting past Daniel Olejniczak in the opening round.