Floyd Mayweather’s former foe Aaron Chalmers left Chas Symonds flat on his face in his bare-knuckle boxing debut at BKFC Dubai.
The former Geordie Shore star weathered an early storm from Symonds to drop the four-fight (1-3) bare-knuckle veteran with a clubbing right hand towards the back end of the opening stanza.
BKFCChalmers flattened Chalmers in the third round of his BKFC debut[/caption]
Chalmers forced Symonds onto his heels in the second round as he went to work on a deep cut on his adversary’s forehead.
By the third frame, he was in full flow and closed the show early in the round with a left hook and a follow-up straight right.
The force of the shot sent Symonds tumbling to the canvas face-first, and although he made his way back to his feet, he did so on unsteady legs, leaving the referee with no choice but to wave off the fight.
It marked Chalmer’s first professional victory in combat sports since his pro boxing debut in June 2022.
Chalmers lost his second bout in the paid ranks to former Love Island star Idris Virgo at a Misfits Boxing event in September 2023 and ditched the gloves thereafter.
Between his two professional boxing outings, Chalmers squared off against five-weight world champion Mayweather in an exhibition bout in February 2023.
As it was a non-scoring bout, it was declared an automatic draw when Chalmers took his far more experienced foe the distance.
However, he struggled to lay a glove on Mayweather for eight rounds at the O2 Arena, London.
He might not have been on the same level as an ageing Mayweather but he did get some props from the boxing legend.
“This guy is tough as nails,” said Mayweather post-fight.
“I came over to the UK to entertain the people. We had fun for eight rounds and I’m glad that I came.
“What he has to do is work hard and believe in his skills, because he’s got a good chin and he’s a tough competitor.”
Toughness is the aim of the game in bare-knuckle boxing, and it will serve him well in McGregor-owned BKFC.
The former dual-weight UFC champion bought a share in the company last year and has been actively involved in the promotion throughout his tenure.
At the weigh-ins on Friday, he had to break up Hannah Rankin and Jessica Borga when they came to blows ahead of their BKFC featherweight title fight.
He’s also repeatedly teased a fight in bare-knuckle in the not-so-distant future.
