BANFF – Whether fighting in the cage or in the streets, settling things with fists has always been a natural action to Charles Gallagher.
So after more than a year away from the cage, the hard-hitting mixed martial arts fighter from Banff is eager to return Saturday (Oct. 14) at Rumble in the Cage 66 (RITC) in Lethbridge in a three, three-minute rounds at amateur welterweight (170 pounds) bout.
Gallagher said he is ready for “all the chaos that comes with it” when he goes toe-to-toe with former junior hockey enforcer Olson Werenka of Calgary.
“Typically at the one week, two week mark [before the fight], that’s when my brain starts dialling in and I’m just getting ready for war,” said Gallagher. “There’s no nerves, no anxiety, just me getting excited to legally put my hands on the other man.”
Fighting out of Dark Horse Martial Arts (DHMA) in Canmore, the 27-year-old Muay Thai striking specialist (0-1) said this is a “special comeback” fight for him.
Gallagher’s opponent Werenka has an amateur record of 1-0, the result of a first round knockout last June. Outside of the cage, the 23-year-old Calgarian had previously played in 57 Alberta Junior Hockey League games with the Bonnyville Pontiacs and Spruce Grove Saints and accumulated 266 penalty minutes.
“He’s no stranger to the spotlight, but as far as my game plan and what I’m going to do, it’s just gonna be a technical masterpiece,” said Gallagher.
“Olson’s fate is in his own hands, you know, whatever mistake he wants to make, and there's gonna be a mistake, and it’s just a matter of when I’m going to capitalize on it and how I’m going to do it.
“That’s no shade to his game. He’s undefeated and he’s a very talented opponent. He’s actually probably the best opponent I could have for my first fight back in over a year, but that being said, nobody’s perfect.”
Originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Gallagher has lived in Banff since May. He said he arrived in town on a Saturday and began training at DHMA by Monday.
When the East Coaster walked through the club’s doors, he was primarily a striker, but since then he’s been “working like a madman” to upgrade his grappling and ground game, said DHMA head instructor Travis Erlam.
“It’s really cool to see,” said Erlam, the Best of the Bow’s top voted coach. “Since day one, he showed up and he’s like ‘I have just this amount of experience all I wanna do is get better.’
“It's been hard to keep him out of the gym.”
Following a submission loss to a grappler in June 2022 in his amateur debut, Gallagher said “lessons were learned” and he reinvented himself to tighten the holes in his MMA game. He has since competed in 10 jiu-jitsu tournaments across the country in anticipation of his return to the cage. Growth in Gallagher’s overall game is what Erlam has seen in the five months he’s been in town.
With a fighting spirit and appreciation for all aspects of MMA, Gallagher looks to showcase a more complete game.
“This Saturday, that's exactly what I’m gonna show,” said Gallagher.
The RITC pay-per-view is available at rumbleinthecage.com.
