Darren Till stepped into bare-knuckle fighting for the first time on Saturday afternoon, facing Aaron Chalmers in the co-main event at BKFC 90 at Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England. For Till, a former UFC welterweight title challenger, it was the next turn in a combat sports career that has already taken him from the Octagon to boxing and now to BKFC.
The bout drew interest because Till arrived with momentum from a 4-0 run in boxing before signing with BKFC in April. He had left the UFC in 2022, then spent time in exhibition bouts and influencer fights before making his professional boxing debut against Luke Rockhold last year. This was the first time he was asked to do it without gloves.
Leon Edwards was in the building to watch, adding another familiar UFC name to a card built around Till’s debut. The matchup also put him opposite a fighter with more varied recent experience in combat sports. Chalmers brought a 5-2 MMA record under the BAMMA and Bellator banners, nearly as many boxing bouts, an exhibition against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2023, and a 2-0 mark in BKFC in 2025.
That is what made the fight more than a crossover curiosity. Boxing success can travel a long way, but bare-knuckle fighting is a different test, and experience in that setting carries its own weight. Till had made his name in the UFC before finding opportunities in boxing and BKFC, while Chalmers came in with the sharper bare-knuckle résumé. The result of Till’s debut was not immediately confirmed, leaving the most important question tied to what he looked like once the gloves came off for real.
