Darren Till faces Aaron Chalmers in BKFC debut May 30
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till will make his BKFC debut against Aaron Chalmers on May 30 at Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England.
BKFC announced the matchup Tuesday, pairing Till with Chalmers, a former reality TV star who competed in Bellator and BAMMA before transitioning to bare knuckle. As MMA Fighting first reported, Till signed with the promotion earlier this month after leaving Misfits Boxing, where he went 3-0 and captured a title. The Liverpool native revealed on The Ariel Helwani Show that he inked a three-fight contract with BKFC.
Till explains BKFC move after Misfits run
Till told Yahoo Sports he accepted the offer because it was too good to pass up. “I have to just say, the reason Bare Knuckle happened is because I couldn’t turn down the offer,” Till said. “It was irrefusable. … It excited me. It got me juices flowing.” The 33-year-old acknowledged the challenge ahead, calling BKFC competitors “very gritty, hard-punching guys” who require a different mentality than traditional martial artists.
Chalmers brings legitimate combat sports experience despite his reality TV background. The 38-year-old went 5-2 in MMA between BAMMA and Bellator before moving into boxing exhibitions and bare knuckle fighting. Per Sherdog, Chalmers is 2-0 under the BKFC banner, most recently stopping Chas Symonds at BKFC 72 last year.
Till left the UFC in 2022 after dropping four of his final five fights inside the Octagon, including a title-shot loss to Tyron Woodley in September 2018. He has since won all four boxing matches, knocking out Luke Rockhold last August. BKFC 90 marks his first bare knuckle appearance.
Photo by Zachary Musser on Unsplash
Original reporting:
- mmafighting.com — Darren Till makes BKFC debut at BKFC 90 next month | MMA Fighting
- sherdog.com — Darren Till to face former reality TV star, Bellator veteran in BKFC debut