'Journeyman' Karl Donaldson Says Aaron Chalmers 'Cant Hurt Him' At BAMMA 33

We’re just 10 days away from BAMMA 33 at the Metro Arena in Newcastle and the excitement is building ahead of BAMMA’s return to the North East of England.

Just last week, Yahoo Sports announced that UK reality TV star Aaron Chalmers will take on Karl Donaldson in the co-main event of the evening. Donaldson, who will be making his professional debut on Dec. 15, spoke exclusively MMANytt.com yesterday and explained his background and how he got offered the fight.

Listen to the full interview:

How it all began…

“I was boxing from the age of 15 to 18, amateur boxing, then I dropped out of that because I had kids or whatever,” Donaldson said. “Then I got back into it when I was 25 or 24, because I saw mixed martial arts, MMA, and I saw a lot of older guys and I’m thinking I can do this because with my boxing career, I started late, so when I come back when I was 25 I was too old and no one took me serious because of my age, but when I saw MMA, I saw older guys doing good, so I thought there’s a career for me.

“So I got back into boxing to get my fitness back. Then I went to a local MMA gym and I realized that it’s a whole different ball game from boxing. So, obviously, my plans got setback a bit. So, I just focused on doing a few semi-pro fights MMA, boxing, when I was like 28, 25 to 28, I did like, semi-pro fights. I focused on my BJJ, wrestling, whatever, So that’s what I’ve been doing ever since really. I Just been doing a few shows here and there. The last, listen, from this year, I thought I’d take it serious, doing a lot of shows, semi-pro, boxing etc. Somehow, BAMMA got in contact with me from a couple of promoters that I fought on their show, they said they were looking for a fighter. So that’s when they contacted me and called me up and said ‘Do you want a fight?’ I’m like, definitely.

“They told me who I’m fighting, the opportunity and I couldn’t turn it down really.”

“I said yeah I’ll do that. Last minute? It doesn’t matter to me. I train everyday.”

Chalmers isn’t a ‘real’ fighter

After confirming he’s now 36-years-old and that’s he had 6 semi-pro boxing fights in addition to his 0-1 amateur record, Donaldson gave his thoughts on Chalmers.

“As a fighter? He’s not a fighter, that’s what I’ve seen,” Donaldson said. “Win, lose or draw, he’s not a fighter. His heart isn’t in it to be a real fighter is it? He’s not a fighter. He might win a fight, but he’s not a fighter, it’s not in his instincts.

“I’ve never really watched Geordie Shore because I’m too busy in the gym myself. But, I have looked at a few of the programs and he wouldn’t be my best of friends in real life from what I see on the TV. From his fighting, even only though it’s a few minutes, his chin was up high and he was winging punches. If you look at my YouTube videos, I’m tough yeah, I’m tough.

“I take shots all day long so if he comes with that style, with his head up, with his chin up, that’s not going to work.”

A journeyman used to fighting away from home

Suffice to say, Donaldson is confident he will cause a big upset on Dec. 15 and he isn’t afraid of doing it in Chalmers’ own backyard. According to Donaldson, he’s used to fighting away from home.

“When I normally fight, I’m always away,” Donaldson said.

“I don’t really focus on, yeah, because I’m old now, because I’m a journeyman, but I don’t want to lose as a journeyman because I don’t want to lose no fights. So, I’m used to travelling, it’s not a problem.”

“Maybe not as far as Newcastle. I’m from London so I drive to Southend or, err, my last fight I went to, oh, I can’t remember the area, up on the M4. So I normally drive and fight. That’s not a problem.”

He can’t hurt me

Donaldson says anyone expecting Chalmers is in for an easy night at BAMMA 33 better think again. He thinks he’s going to tough it out against the Geordie and he see’s big flaws in his game that he’s going to expose.

“I know he can’t hurt me, there’s no way he can hurt me,” Donaldson said. “So, I’m a pressure fighter so I’m going to put pressure on him, wear him out. That’s my aim. To tire him out on the floor, tire him out. Smother his shots, cover his face. Just tire him out and wear him down. I don’t think his fitness is going to be that great.

“I’m just going to wear him down. I’m too tough for him. I know I’m too tough.”

“But it’s a fight at the end of the day. I don’t know what can happen, but my fitness is the best like when I go to different gyms so I know. Like I said, I’m strong, like yeah. My last two fights where BAMMA judged me from, my last two fights, I just went in there learning. It wasn’t professional. It’s not, I didn’t really care the really. I was just going out there to keep myself warm and active. So they judged me on my last two fights. When they seen my previous fights, that’s when they changes their tune kind of thing. But, like I said, my last two fights were just to keep me out there to keep busy. That’s what they judged me on. So as long as I apply pressure and wear him down. Wear him down, that’s my gameplan and apply pressure. If he hurts me then he talk, but I don’t think he would.”