Darren Till knocks out Aaron Chalmers in second round of BKFC debut

Darren Till made an immediate impression in bare-knuckle boxing, knocking out Aaron Chalmers in the second round of his BKFC debut at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England on Saturday. A clean left hand put Chalmers down cold, giving Till (18-5) another winning result in his post-UFC career.

The finish carried extra weight given Chalmers’ experience in the format — the Geordie Shore personality had finished both of his previous BKFC opponents, making Till’s stoppage a credible statement rather than a soft introduction to the sport.

Till parted ways with the UFC in 2022 following a three-fight losing skid, and a lengthy period of inactivity followed, partly caused by a series of cancelled boxing matches. When he did return to action, the Liverpool-born fighter known as “The Gorilla” made up for lost time, defeating Anthony Taylor and fellow UFC veterans Darren Stewart and Luke Rockhold in successive boxing bouts.

Despite Till publicly expressing a desire to return to the UFC, the promotion showed little appetite for a reunion. His pivot toward combat sports outside the octagon has instead produced a run of results that has rebuilt his profile considerably.

Saturday’s performance in front of a home crowd in England adds a bare-knuckle scalp to that sequence and raises questions about where Till’s career heads next — whether deeper into BKFC or toward another venture in the broader combat sports landscape.