Coming off a loss in his last bout of 2015, former Bellator heavyweight Daniel Gallemore was eager to put himself on the right track in 2016, and responded with back to back wins.
Against Abe Wagner in May, and then versus Derek Bohi, both in Victory FC, Gallemore was able to pick up first round finishes and get his career back on track.
“I heard a lot of negative stuff about Abe before the fight from people he’d fought before,” Gallemore told MMAWeekly.com. “I trained especially hard for that fight. It’s easy to get motivated when you hear negative stuff about your opponent. It paid off in the fight.
“Derek however was a different story. We’ve travelled in the same circle since we were amateurs, and I like the guy. It’s harder to get motivated for a guy like that, but at the end of the day, a fight’s a fight. I had a couple of hang-ups in camp because of my conditioning, but it still worked out pretty well.”
Having had just over five months since his win over Bohi to prepare for his first bout of 2017, Gallemore feels the adjustments in his game have come more in the guise of refinements rather than huge changes.
“I think it’s more smaller stuff,” said Gallemore. “Your brain is wired the way it’s wired. The intangible stuff doesn’t change a whole lot. I make changes for game plans a little bit, but not too much.”
Gallemore (6-3) will seek to keep his winning streak going when he takes on Daniel James (6-2-1) in a heavyweight main event at Victory FC 57 on Friday in Topeka, Kan.
“I’m not opposed to the brawling style,” Gallemore said. “That’s probably the worst thing you can do with (James) because he’s a big, strong, physical specimen; but so far it has worked out for me.
“Daniel is a size guy. His technique and details and stuff are not forgotten about, but they’re not practiced as they should be. I’m pretty confident in my abilities. We’ll see how things go on Friday.”
When it comes to his future, being a heavyweight gives Gallemore more opportunities to step up as the division is always in need of talent. When he does get a chance to move up, he hopes it will be just as financially beneficial as it can be career impacting.
“The UFC is obviously the big leagues,” said Gallemore. “I know some of those Pro Fighters League guys, so I’ve got a relationship with him as well. With all of that being present, I hope for fighters’ sake that a bidding war is going to come about and fighters’ pay will continue to increase.
“After this fight I will worry about what comes next. There’s a lot on the horizon right now for fighters in my position. And it’s a good time to be a heavyweight too. I’ve got a pretty good following and I’m fairly well marketed, so there’s a lot on the horizon.”
