The haters only seem to be fuelling Aaron Chalmers.
Chalmers moved to 4-0 as a professional mixed martial artist on Friday night when he continued his streak of first-round finishes in his Bellator debut.
On the main card of Bellator 200, the Geordie Shore star came back from adversity to choke out opponent Ash Griffiths and keep the hype train rolling on to the next station.
Chalmers was forced to work through some early Griffiths pressure and even ate a solid knee to the face before he snatched his rival’s neck and cranked the standing guillotine until Griffiths’ arms went limp.
The result was declared a technical submission as Griffiths seemingly lost consciousness before he could tap.
What better way to celebrate your birthday than with a 1st-round finish in your Bellator debut?!?! @AaronCGShore picked up an early submission to stay undefeated at #Bellator200 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/qF1IygyhBI
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) May 26, 2018
Chalmers is accustomed to online abuse, with several fighters unhappy about the level of publicity he has received since making his pro debut last year.
And some ridiculous accusations have been made ever since Chalmers’ victory at the weekend, with some suggesting that the way that Griffiths fell to the mat was not consistent with an unconscious fighter.
There are several possibilities here and the suggestion that Griffiths was paid to take a dive is probably the most far-fetched of all.
Strange things happen when people go unconscious and it’s entirely possible that Griffiths was on the way out, dropped his hands and woke up when the pressure on his neck was released. Alternatively, it’s possible that Griffiths somewhat dramatised matters after panicking in the choke and looked for a way out of the fight.
But it would be unfathomably stupid for Bellator to risk their licence to guarantee a win for a fighter who is almost certainly never going to be a world champion or for Griffiths to jeopardise his entire reputation and therefore career for a quick buck.
‘The Joker’ has been quick to defend himself after the likes of Leeroy Barnes questioned the legitimacy of his win.
https://twitter.com/AaronCGShore/status/1000653454640144385
https://twitter.com/AaronCGShore/status/1000656649181450240
Sure, Bellator probably matched Chalmers up with an opponent he was supposed to beat but that’s commonplace in combat sports as potential stars are allowed to get some early wins under their belt.
But it does an injustice to Chalmers, Griffiths and the entire organisation to suggest that there was anything shady about the fight.
Whatever you think about his personality, Chalmers can fight. Deal with it, folks.
