Darren Till has said he believes boxing is the most dangerous combat sport compared to MMA and bareknuckle fighting.
Till, who will make his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut on Saturday against former Geordie Shore star Aaron Chalmers, has spent the last 18-months boxing following a successful UFC career which saw him challenge for the welterweight title in 2018.
The 33-year-old said the persistent head shots fighters absorb in boxing, particularly with multiple sparring sessions a week during camp, makes it the most brutal of the three disciplines.
"Boxing still has to be the most dangerous, particularly the heavyweights," Till told ESPN.
"Whether it be 12, 10 or eight rounds of continuous punching, continuous trauma to the head ... I know bareknuckle, MMA, Muay Thai is brutal, but it's that head trauma more than anything.
"You might have a long-lasting rib injury or something but it's not going to mess you up in the head, your thinking and stuff like that."
Till said in his experience, sparring sessions, rather than fights themselves, with larger gloves, can be the most taxing.
"Just for me, two years [boxing], three times a week sparring, sometimes heavyweights because I'm a big guy, you can't be just taking these big shots.
"[Sparring with] 16oz gloves, you're not going to get knocked out but you're going to take more punishment."
After trying his hand at gloved fighting, Till has turned to bareknuckle following his departure from the Misfits promotion. In the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship he can expect rules similar to boxing except without gloves, with a different type of ring, and with five two-minute rounds.
A big fight against Tommy Fury fell through with Misfits last year, but Till earned a brutal knockout of fellow former UFC champion Luke Rockhold in August. However, he left Misfits with a desire to get more big name fights.
As he enters the next chapter of his combat career, Till isn't taking anything lightly against Chalmers, who has more bareknuckle experience.
"Aaron's no slouch. He can throw a good one-two. He's got a good right hand," Till says.
"I don't look at him and go: 'Oh, Geordie Shore or he's a smaller guy or this or that.' I just look and go: 'That's Aaron Chalmers, that's my next opponent. I need to train really hard. I need to prepare the best I'm going to prepare.' That's it."