From the moment he caught the first kick, James Gallagher was well on his way to a rebound victory.

His opponent, Steven Graham, came out firing an immediate kick in the center of the cage. Gallagher was ready for it and caught it. From there, the fight went straight to the mat, where Gallagher put on a grappling clinic until securing a submission win with a rear-naked choke at the 2:31 mark of the first round of their Bellator 217 headliner.

For the 22-year-old Gallagher, it was an impressive way to recover from the first loss of his career, a devastating knockout last August by Ricky Bandejas. And Gallagher (8-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) did it in front of a raucous home crowd. The event took place at 3Arena in Dublin with a main card on Paramount and DAZN via tape delay.

💪🇮🇪😳@StrabanimalMMA is victorious in his return to the Bellator cage with a rear naked choke at #Bellator217. Watch the main event in the 🇺🇸 at 9/8c on @ParamountNet & simulcast on @DAZN_USA. pic.twitter.com/NgYWT2AsgI — Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 23, 2019

“I swear to God I’m so thankful to everyone that came out and supported me coming off a big loss,” Gallagher said in the cage. “Everyone stood on me when I was dying. They ridiculed me. They counted me out. They said the harshest things I’ve ever been called in my life.

“And I came back!”

Gallagher was comfortable the entire time on the canvas. He took complete control once he locked in a body triangle and took Graham’s back. At one point, Graham (6-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) stood up – but with Gallagher clinging to him like a backpack. Gallagher switched his body triangle and was able to sink in the choke.

As he squeezed, Graham fell to the canvas. Moments later, the fight was over.

“I took me time,” Gallagher said. “Listen to the crowd. I strangled the life out of him.”

Gallery James Gallagher def. Steven Graham at Bellator 217: Best photos view 10 images

Price wins split decision in grudge match with Queally

There was plenty of hatred expressed in the build-up to the Bellator 217 co-main event between former SBG Ireland teammates Myles Price and Peter Queally, but the fight itself failed to produce little more than a questionable decision.

In the end, it was Price who eked out split call over Queally in front of a disappointed pro-Queally crowd. Two judges scored it 29-28 for Price, with one going the other way for Queally.

They're biting down on the mouthpieces in round two here in our co-main event between @PeterQueally and @Myles_Splinter. Watch the #Bellator217 main card LIVE now on @SkySports in the 🇬🇧 & 🇮🇪. See our main card in the 🇺🇸 at 9/8c on @ParamountNet & simulcast on @DAZN_USA. pic.twitter.com/MEZRNioNuv — Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 23, 2019

The theme throughout the fight was a case of Queally winning the stand-up exchanges and Price resorting to takedown attempts – or just trying to close the distance to not get hurt. While it was Queally who did more damage, Price managed to control the pace of the fight this way, which was enough for the judges.

Price managed to finish strong in the third round, finally scoring a takedown and taking Queally’s back for roughly the final 2 minutes to put a stamp on his victory.

Ward knocks out Stephenson in 34 seconds

👊🍀Woah! @RelentlessWard with another big KO just 0:44 into round one! Catch the #BellatorDublin prelims in the 🇺🇸at 6/5c. pic.twitter.com/KHSgEaakEH — Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 23, 2019

Official Bellator 217 results include:

MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN, 9 p.m. ET via tape delay)

James Gallagher def. Steven Graham via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:31

Myles Price def. Peter Queally via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Kiefer Crosbie def. Daniel Olejniczak via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:09

Richie Smullen def. Adam Gustab via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 6 p.m. ET)

Charlie Ward def. Jamie Stephenson via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:34

Paul Redmond def. Charlie Leary via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Richard Kiely def. Mickael Bucher via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:21

Walter Gahadza def. Ruben Crawford via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:59

Ryan Curtis def. Luis Gonzalez via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:59

Leah McCourt def. Hatice Ozyurt via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00

Olga Rubin def. Iony Razafiarison via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Will Fleury def. Shaun Taylor via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:32

Alfie Davis def. Daniele Scatizzi via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Chris Duncan def. Sam Slater via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:52

Dylan Logan def. Andrew Murphy via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:41

George Courtney def. Ian Cleary via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 0:54

For more on Bellator 217, check out the MMA Events section of the site.