With Gallagher hurt, McKee vs. Moore to headline Bellator 187
In a near poetic sequence of events, James Gallagher's spot has been filled by his greatest rival.
A knee injury suffered in training has forced Gallagher out of Bellator 187's featherweight main event opposite Jeremiah Labiano, allowing the undefeated AJ McKee to step in against Brian Moore - Gallagher's SBG Ireland cohort - in the card's new headliner Nov. 10 at 3Arena in Dublin.
The promotion announced the development in a Thursday release after a Wednesday report from MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani.
Gallagher was to put his perfect 7-0 record on the line in what would have marked his first top billing, instead "the Strabanimal" will now be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks, Helwani reports.
Decky Dalton and Andre Goncalves - McKee's and Moore's original opponents - will now square off on the bill, while Labiano will fight Noad Lahat six days later in Tel Aviv at Bellator 188.
McKee, 22, has gone 9-0 as a pro, with each fight coming under the Bellator banner, and most recently took a unanimous decision over Blair Tugman in August.
Moore has split a pair of Bellator bouts, rebounding from a tapout loss to Daniel Weichel with a second-round TKO of Michal Horejsi at Bellator 177. He meets McKee with a professional record of 10-5.