WARNING, SENSITIVE TOPICS: Geordie Shore star-turned-pugilist Aaron Chalmers has explained how bare-knuckle put him on the straight and narrow after drinking to deal with a family death and his son fighting for his life
Aaron Chalmers says bare-knuckle boxing pulled saved him from a “slippery slope” of drinking to deal with personal issues.
The 37-year-old, who found fame on MTV’s Geordie Shore, is set to make his debut with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship on Saturday in Dubai, beaming with excitement as he gears up to take on seasoned veteran Chasa Symonds. However, Chalmers‘ life looked completely different a year ago – stuck in a battle with alcohol after a string of grievances.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Fighting ahead of his BKFC debut, Chalmers said: “So, I’m going to be honest right. I was on a bit of a slippery slope. 2023 was a good year, I had four fights, I was pretty active, I fought Floyd [Mayweather Jr]. I had a bad knee injury but I still had three fights.
“Everything was going in the right direction, and then after my last fight in the November – a few days later my cousin died, who was literally my best mate, my brother. He passed away and I just went on a slippery slope. I started drinking f***ing really, really badly. Drinking badly.
“And then leading into 2024, my son… As I was trying to get myself back on the straight and narrow, my son went into hospital. It was meant to be a routine head surgery, and he was in a coma and he was in Liverpool fighting for his life for eight weeks, and I just didn’t deal with it.
“I was just drinking, the only way to deal with losing my cousin and then that a couple of months after, I was just drinking. It came to August, I was still in limbo, I was not doing anything. I was in limbo. I was trying to go in the gym and then I was getting to the weekend and I was drinking. I was having blow-outs.”
Chalmers described his cousin, Courtney Clift, as his best friend as he shared a heartfelt message in the wake of his passing back in November 2023 – taking to Instagram to share how a “big hole” had been left. Meanwhile, his youngest son, Oakley, three, was born with Apert Syndrome, a rare genetic syndrome which affects the skull, face, hands and feet.
After turning to the drink while struggling through a dark period, Chalmers explained that a message from the BKFC inspired him to get back to the gym and ditch alcohol altogether. He continued: “Come August, I got a message off [BKFC UK president] Andrew Bakewell.
“The BKFC had said, ‘We would love to have a chat’, so I think it was Andrew first, then he put me in touch with [founder] David [Feldman]. So David Facetimed me, he was like, ‘We would love to have you on and blah, blah, blah’. I kind of had that conversation with him but nothing really progressed from that conversation.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, we’ll get something sorted’, then a couple of weeks went by so I just forgot about it. So I was hitting the drink again and he rang me and he said, ‘Right Aaron, let’s do it’. Rang me, offered me a three-fight deal in the September. And that was the turning point, I haven’t had a drink since I signed the contract.
“I think I just needed something to kind of get me out of the dark place, and obviously the bare knuckle was that. It hasn’t been an easy road, we’ve had a fair few fights… Like ‘I’m fighting this date, it’s not on, I’m fighting this date’. But I always think these things just happen for a reason, and here we are.
“We’re on a massive, massive weekend in Dubai. But I would kind of like to thank David and Andrew and the BKFC, because, had they not have reached out at that time, f***ing who knows where I would have been. I was in a bit of a lost cause – was getting no boxing fights because I wasn’t training, I wasn’t doing any content. I wasn’t doing f*** all.
“They reached out, and aye, like I say, I haven’t had a drink since I signed that contract. So they kind of put me back on the straight and narrow. For me, I’m 37. This is probably the last big, big chance on the big stage. I’ve had many a chance over the years, but I think this is the last big chance.
“Obviously, they’ve got the massive partnership with DAZN, Conor McGregor. So I think this is the last big shot at the big time, so I’ve been grafting my a*** off, and hopefully I can show that on fight night.”
Chalmers originally kicked off his combat sports career while still working on Geordie Shore, with the MTV show broadcasting him moving to Birmingham to train with former welterweight UFC champion Leon Edwards as he prepared for his debut in mixed martial arts. After going 3-0 in BAMMA, Chalmers made the move to Bellator, nudging his record to 5-2 before transitioning into the world of boxing instead.
The Geordie scrapper marked his debut in June 2022 with a win on points over Alexander Zeledon, before well and truly hitting the ground running in 2023. That year, Chalmers shared the squared circle with Mayweather Jr, Kiefer Crosbie, Warren Spencer and Idris Virgo.
Now, the Newcastle-upon-Tyne native has his sights set on success with BKFC, with seasoned veteran Symonds – who is 18-9 in traditional boxing – welcoming him to the promotion. On the prospect of his BKFC debut this weekend, Chalmers said: “He’s very, very experienced. I don’t really know too much about him.
“From what I’ve seen, I know it’s a bit of a dog fight. Obviously this is going to be my first fight in 18 months so I’m excited. Everyone’s like, ‘You’ve never been hit with a bare knuckle,’ and I’m thinking, ‘I’ve been f***ing elbowed, I’ve been kicked, I’ve been kneed’.
“When you’re in there, you don’t really feel it. Like I say, I’m sure afterwards I’ll feel it. Yeah, we’re just preparing to be the best – the most fittest and the best I can be.
“But as for him, I try not to pay too much attention to what my opponent is doing, I just pay attention to what I’m doing. We’ve got a game-plan and that’s what we’re working towards.”
Aaron Chalmers takes on Chasa Symonds at BKFC 72 on Saturday, April 5. You can catch all of the action as it unfolds live on DAZN.
