Higo vs Gallagher

Who won Higo vs Gallagher?

Leandro Higo beat James Gallagher by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of Bellator Champions Series, on Friday 22nd March 2024 at SSE Arena in Belfast.

The scorecards were announced as 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of the winner Leandro Higo.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Featherweight division, which meant the weight limit was 145 pounds (10.4 stone or 65.8 KG).

Higo vs Gallagher stats

Leandro Higo stepped into the octagon with a record of 22 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 13 by submission.

James Gallagher made his way to the cage with a record of 12 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws and 9 by submission.

Leandro Higo's Bellator record stood at 6-4-0, while James Gallagher's came in at 9-3-0.

The stats suggested Higo had an advantage in power over Gallagher, with a 14% knock out percentage over Gallagher's 0%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Gallagher had an advantage over Higo, with a 75% submission rate over Higo's 59%.

Leandro Higo was the older man by 8 years, at 35 years old.

Higo had 5-inch reach advantage.

Higo was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 14 more fights, and made his debut in 2006, 9 years and 5 months earlier than Gallagher, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 36 more professional rounds, 63 to Gallagher's 27.

Higo vs Gallagher form

Leandro Higo had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Nikita Mikhailov at Bellator 298 – Storley vs. Ward on 11th August 2023 by submission in the 2nd round at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Danny Sabatello at Bellator 282 on 24th June 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 259 on 21st May 2021 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Before that, he had defeated Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 249 on 15th October 2020 by submission in the 2nd round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He had been beaten by Aaron Pico at Bellator 206 on 29th September 2018 by knockout in the 1st round at SAP Center, San Jose.

James Gallagher had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he was victorious against James Gonzalez at Bellator 298 – Storley vs. Ward on 11th August 2023 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, United States.

Previous to that, he had been defeated by Patchy Mix at Bellator MMA on 5th November 2021 by submission in the 3rd round at 3Arena Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

Going into that contest, he had won against Cal Ellenor at Bellator Euro Series 9 on 3rd October 2020 by submission in the 1st round at Allianz Cloud, Milan, Italy.

Before that, he had beaten Roman Salazar at Bellator 227 on 27th September 2019 by submission in the 1st round at 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland.

He had defeated Jeremiah Labiano at Bellator 223 on 22nd June 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at SSE Arena, London, England.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, James Gallagher had been fighting more than Leandro Higo.

Going to this contest, Leandro Higo had last fought 8 months and 14 days ago, while James Gallagher's last outing had been 8 months and 14 days ago.

Higo's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 6 months and 27 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 1 month and 11 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Gallagher's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 10 months and 3 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 19 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Higo vs Gallagher?

Leandro Higo was a 4/5 (-130) favourite going into the contest, while James Gallagher made his way into the ring at 1/1 (+100) with oddsmakers.