Graeme McDonnell 
With news breaking that top Irish prospect James Gallagher will meet Mike Cutting at Bellator 158 in London on July 16th we spoke to the Englishman to get his thoughts on the bout.
For Gallagher, it will be a much anticipated debut but Cutting has his own plans for the night.
“I’m excited, I can’t wait to put on a show. Honestly, that’s even better. That makes me even more hyped up. That makes me want to go back to the gym now and train harder that I have in the last 4 hours today.”
“I know he [Gallagher] fights out of SBG Ireland, Conor McGregor’s gym, so I know he will be training hard in all areas. He’s no slouch, he’s a well rounded kid, he’s got some skills and that’s what I want, I want decent people who are going to test me.”
“I believe he will probably test me a little bit but nothing I can’t handle or haven’t seen before”
Cutting knows that fans may look at his record as a professional and look past him but believes that changes he has made inside and outside of the gym have made him a different beast.
“People might say he’s only 7 wins and 4 losses, but in my opinion I’ve fought tough competition.
“I will go to the death if i have to. I’ll give it my all when I’m in there.”
“There are some fights I’ve made mistakes with which has lost me fights but I’ve changed my life outside the gym, inside the gym. When it comes to the night of Bellator, people are going to see a different me”
Cutting admits he hasn’t seen that much of Gallagher but thinks “the kid is alright” and hopes the best man wins on the night.
“I think the kid is alright, I think he’s awesome, he doesn’t look like a douche to me, looks like he’s hungry and that he wants to do well. The same with me, I’m hungry, I’m going to come back better than I did in my last fight and may the best man win on the night. Hopefully we will be friends afterwards and i’ll move onto the next one.”
The Englishman believes his advantage lies in his grappling and that his “jiu jitsu is on a completely different level”.
“In a way i’d just like to surprise everyone. The difference is I think I’m a lot more skilled in my opinion, not talking anything away from him but I think my jiu jitsu is on a completely different level”
“I love jiu jitsu, jiu jitsu is my life but i’ve started doing more Muay Thai and kickboxing.. They might sleep on my stand up, but the thing is you can’t hurt what you can’t hit.. unless you’re really connecting, you’re not going to get a knockout. If you’re hitting shoulders and arms that’s going to do nothing”
“I’m going to get hit but I believe I’ll move well, if it does come to the clinch, whether I land on my back or on top I’m going to be more active and I’m ready and hungry for the finish. I’ll take my time, I won’t rush it as that can lead to mistakes”
“There’s no gameplan for me, I’m just going to adapt to what comes on the night and have fun”
“He bounces like myself, I’ve got to keep wary of when to move in and move out and he’s no slouch at grappling either. In jiu jitsu once something is on it’s on, it’s kill or be killed for me”
Moving from the regional scene to the worldwide platform of Bellator MMA could lead to more pressure on the shoulders of most fighters but Cutting thinks that extra pressure is a good thing for him
“There’s no pressure for me, I just look at it like I love the pressure in every fight.. all my losses have shaped me to be the fighter that I’m going to be on the night”
“I think experience [of big crowds in BAMMA] does help because I think I’ve become a more well rounded fighter when I’ve been under pressure so I like the underdog status. ”
Cutting also spoke of the famous travelling Irish crowd but believes it won’t be a problem for him on the night
“I love the crowd, I feed off the crowd. I love it. I gives me goosebumps, when I got that call from Bellator I got goosebumps, I don’t care what weight or who he is, let’s do it.”
“I love the Irish, they’re the best fans in the word at the moment and he’s a good kid, he’s got some skill, we’re both gonna bring the best out of each other.
Bellator’s light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary is a good friend of Cutting, the two had their first pro fights on the same card when they were fighting out of the same gym and the Englishman says he is “really looking forward to seeing him after my fight if he’s going to be there”
“This is gonna be my comeback fight, people are going to turn their heads”
Photos: (c) BAMMA 2016
Sounds like a decent guy,may the best man win