Aaron Chalmers is done with MMA.
The former Geordie Shore reality show star turned Bellator fighter announced his retirement from competition Thursday, sharing a video on Instagram in which he celebrated six months of sobriety and also declared that he’s moving on to new endeavors.
“I’m at a new gym with amazing people around us, everyone’s got the same mindset,” Chalmers said. “We’ve left MMA behind. MMA is now a thing of the past. We’re on to a new challenge, a new target, a new goal, and I couldn’t be happier.
“Anxiety is non-existent. I don’t have the fear when you wake up after drinking beer, so it’s been—I wouldn’t even say it’s been a long six months, because it’s been pretty easy. I literally put my mind to it, I put my mind to it six months ago, I switched to a new gym four months ago, and that was the game-changer. Being around people who are superior athletes, is the only way to put them, has just put my mindset to just train, train, train and be healthy.”
Chalmers closes his pro fighting career with a 5-2 record. He debuted in 2017 and rattled off four straight first-round finishes, including a guillotine choke submission of Ashley Griffiths at Bellator 200. He went 2-2 with Bellator, most recently losing a unanimous decision to Austin Clem at an event in Dublin last February.
The 33-year-old brought a large following to his brief stint with Bellator, having starred as a cast member on Geordie Shore, the British equivalent of MTV’s popular Jersey Shore reality series. He competed at both lightweight and welterweight and said he is now back down to around 80 kilograms (approx. 176 pounds) after ballooning up in weight six months ago.
“Today is a big day for me,” Chalmers said. “I am six months sober, six months in total, exactly half a year since my last week. I set out to do one month off the drink to sort myself out because I was sitting at nearly 90 kilos, drinking every day, and I said to myself that I need to change. So I said I would have one month off and now the plan is to have a whole year.”
Chalmers did not indicate exactly what his future plans would be, though he has previously discussed boxing as well as entering the pro wrestling world with the WWE. For now, a return to MMA does not appear to be in the cards.
“We’re putting MMA behind and focusing on a new goal,” Chalmers said. “So roll on the next six months and keep your eyes tuned because there’s gonna be some news coming, hopefully very soon.”