AARON CHALMERS put the final touches into his training just days before he makes his Bellator MMA debut.
The former Geordie Shore star, who quit the reality TV show to go professional in the sport, will fight fellow Brit Ash Griffiths at Bellator 200 at the SSE Arena, Wembley on Friday night.
Chalmers is undefeated since taking the decision to go full-time, and goes up against a fighter with more losses to his name than wins.
But it is undoubtedly his toughest bout to date.
His three previous outings have taken place under the British-run BAMMA banner – but they have allowed him a one-fight release to enter the Bellator cage.
SunSport previously reported how the 30-year-old Toon sensation was almost lost for words when he learned he would be joining that illustrious list.
Chalmers said: “I was sitting round my girlfriend’s house and my agent called and said ‘you are not going to believe it’.
“I knew there were talks going on but I still didn’t expect him to say ‘you are fighting on the Bellator London show’.
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“My heart sank with nerves because it is quite a big show – well it’s actually a f****** huge show.
“I am buzzing. Inside a year everything has just gone from strength to strength. And now I am on one of the biggest shows in the world.
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Complete Bellator 200 Main Card
Middleweight World Title: Rafael Carvalho (15-1) vs. Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2)
Heavyweight: Mirko Cro Cop (36-11-2, 1 NC) vs. Roy Nelson (23-15)
Light Heavyweight: Phil Davis (18-4) vs. Linton Vassell (18-6)
Welterweight: Michael Page (12-0) vs. David Rickels (19-4, 2 NC)
163-Pound Catchweight: Aaron Chalmers (3-0) vs. Ash Griffiths (4-5)
“If someone said to me a year ago that I would be on the same card as Mirko Cro Cop, Roy Nelson and Michael Venom Page I would have laughed at them and said ‘f*** off’.
“A year later I am on it and it seems surreal. I am going to be sitting in a press conference with Mirko f****** Cro Cop, who I have watched for years.”
Chalmers swapped the burgeoning Ultimate Training Centre in Birmingham – where he works with Brit sensations Leon and Fabian Edwards – for American Top Team.
UFC stars like welterweight champion Tyson Woodley, Brit banger Marc Diakese and female champions Amanda Nunes and Joanna Jedrzejczyk call the gym home.
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