There's a very good reason why we haven't heard much about Aaron Chalmers' next fight.
Apparently, Chalmers is involved in a contract dispute with BAMMA, the mixed martial arts promotion which handed him his debut.
The Geordie Shore star fought three times in 2017 for BAMMA but has competed only once this year, when he maintained his streak of first-round finishes.
The most recent win came under the Bellator banner but Chalmers claims that his fighting future remains up in the air because BAMMA are refusing to release him from his contract.
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"I was told I was going to be released from my BAMMA contract after the fight with Bellator, that didn't happen," Chalmers said on the
Helwani Show. "It's a load of stuff that is now affecting the fighting because it's a legal case that I can't fight. So, BAMMA said they don't want us to fight for them again, I won't fight for them again after what's happened, so it would just make sense to terminate the contract but for some reason they're not releasing us."
Chalmers, who has gone 4-0 since turning pro, has proven to be a divisive figure in the MMA community because he has been awarded certain opportunities in the cage due to his fame from his days as a reality television star.
There is no denying that 'The Joker' is a draw, however, as some fight fans will tune in for his bouts in the hope of seeing him lose while most are curious to see how good he really is.
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"I never signed with Bellator," Chalmers explained. "BAMMA gave us a one-fight release, so I could fight on Bellator and afterwards they said they would release us which was part of the deal and it never got stuck to. It's unfortunate that it's had to go to court.
"Apparently there were some things that were said, apparently I wasn't making a difference when it come to the fighting, ticket sales. But my last fight in my hometown was 6,500 people, their last show was 300 people so there's a bit of a difference there."
The 31-year-old is prepared to run his BAMMA contract down if it comes to it but Chalmers ideally wants to get back to fighting before 2018 is out.
"I would just see my contract out and I wouldn't fight," Chalmers said. "I think it ends next May. Even if it was a contract where I had to fight so many fights, I couldn't fight because there's no shows booked in to fight anyway. It's a weird situation that I'm hoping to get over and done with as soon as possible and then I can look at all the offers that are on the table.
"I wouldn't mind getting one (fight) in at the end of this year. I've only had one this year whereas last year, I had three. I want to be on Bellator. I want to fight in America. I just want to go as far as my career will take us, as far as I can push myself in MMA. That's the plan."
