Danny Aarons vs. Danny Simpson: Former Premier League Star & Influencer Collide in Misfits Boxing Main Event

The next instalment of the X Series is here as Danny Aarons takes on Danny Simpson in the main event of X Series 017 tonight. Both Aarons and the former Premier League player Simpson are promising a win with fireworks. Will Aarons stop Simpson in spectacular fashion? Or will Simpson make good on his vow to deliver the knockout blow that he's been training to produce?

Here's everything you need to know ahead of Aarons vs. Simpson. For one last time before fight night, Danny Aarons and Danny Simpson go head-to-head. Aarons and Simpson had plenty to say to each other. KSI picks his winner for the main event of X Series 017 where he will be performing in two special concerts. Former Premier League winner Danny Simpson picks three fights he would like to see between some famous football pundits. Witness the war of words between the two fighters involved in this weekend's X Series main event, and it is moderated by none other than KSI.

The ringwalks for Aarons vs. Simpson are scheduled for 5 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. UK with the event set to begin at 2 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. UK. These timings are subject to change. The fight will stream live on DAZN in over 200 countries across the globe on pay-per-view, click here for more information on pricing and availability. DAZN has apps available for all of the following platforms: Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Stick, Amazon Fire Tablet, Android Phone & Tablet, iPhone & iPad, Android TV, LG, Smart TV, Panasonic Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, SmartCast, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Roku.

Here is a full list of the devices where DAZN is available, in addition to web browsers on DAZN.com (if you are in Argentina, Chile and Colombia you must download the DAZN app from the Apple App Store or Android Google Play store and then sign up from there, rather than via web browser): The fight will take place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

PREMIER LEAGUE winner Danny Simpson is back in action TONIGHT - but he'll be in the boxing ring and not on the football pitch. The former Manchester United and Newcastle United right-back, 37, who won football's top-flight prize with Leicester City in 2016 is set to make his boxing debut. Simpson will take on social media influencer Danny Aarons on the Misfits 17 card which KSI was originally meant to headline. KSI was supposed to face Anthony Taylor and Slim in a two-on-one handicap match. But the entertainment mogul will now perform a mini-concert instead, with a seven-fight bill to accompany the musical performance. Elsewhere on the card, TikTok star HStikkytokky is in action, as is former Love Island contestant Jake Cornish.

Premier League title winner Danny Simpson stepped in at short notice to take on streamer Danny Aarons in the main event in Dublin tonight. Misifts Boxing celebrates its two-year anniversary in Dublin tonight as Danny Simpson takes on Danny Aarons in the main event. Simpson, who won the Premier League with Leicester in 2016, accepted the fight at short notice with Misfits in need of a headline act when KSI was forced out of his 2vs1 fight against Slim and Anthony Taylor. Both men are making their debut in the ring and will be ably supported by Conor McGregor's photographer Dave Foggarty who takes on Deen The Great. Prince Naseem Hamed's son Sami is also in action as he takes a rather different route to his father. You can stream the fights on DAZN PPV from 6pm or you can follow all the action right here with us...

Anthony Taylor, who was due to take on KSI, will instead face Gabe Silva, son of UFC legend Anderson Silva. Rooney has long been linked with fighting and HS Tikky Tokky wants to welcome him to the ring. "Jake Paul can fing get it," he said. "Wayne Rooney can fing get it"

... and welcome to Mail Sport's coverage of the Misfits X Series 017 event from Dublin's 3Arena. We'll be bringing you live updates of all the action from a star-studden card up to and including tonight's showcase bout that will see former Premier League-winning footballer Danny Simpson take on YouTube sensation Danny Aarons.

We are now just one fight away from tonight's featured fight. Before we see the showdown of the Danny's however, there's still a Misfit title defence to look foward to. Following a middling MMA career, Anthony Taylor has become one of the breakout stars in the influencer scene and has been in there with the likes of Tommy Fury, King Kenny and Salt Papi. Tonight he defends his light heavyweight belt against Gabe Silva, son of the UFC legend Anderson. There appears to be a significant size disparity in Silva's favour be can he make it count here in Dublin?

Fresh from a dominant victory in his boxing debut, HS had a few big names in mind for his next fight. This one is scheduled for three 3-minute rounds but something tells me it won't reach the final bell. Former Love Islander Fensom looks uncomfortable from the opening bell as he throws a lazy jab before immediately getting dropped. He's down again - this is in danger of getting really ugly. Lead left hook and it's all over! Decent showing from the controversial influencer but hard to say how he would fare against someone who didn't fold at the first sign of pressure.

We are fast-approaching tonight's main event between Danny Simpson and Danny Aarons. Former Leicester star Simpson has raised the stakes by putting his Premier League winner's medal on the line against Aaron's YouTube gold play button. Mail Sport's JAMES COHEN caught up with Simpson ahead of his in-ring debut. Read the exclusive interview below

Up next we have the highly-anticipated clash between social media sensation HS Tikky Tokky and Love Island alumn Geogre Fensom. There's no love lost between these two, just look at what happened when they squared off earlier this week...

WOW! This is absolutely frantic! Spencer lands a massive right hand to start the second but Williams responds emphatically and uncorks a multi-punch combination. The referee steps in to end the fight, prematurely in our view. Misfits chief Mams Taylor is cleary furious with the referee's intervention and steps away from the commentary booth. Could we see a rematch?

Incredible reception for Williams as the crowd break erupts during his walkout. Spencer starts aggresively, pumping his jab out and forcing his opponent back towards the edge of the ring. As the pair break from a clinch Williams lands a massive right hand and piles on the pressure. Surely they cannot keep this pace for all four rounds?

Both fighters have had their moments but Williams takes it on our card with the more impactful strikes. Mail Sport scorecard: Williams 10-9 Spencer

The quality on display inside the ring has been gradually increasing as the night has gone on. Let's hope it continues... Expect a massive response from the Irish crowd as home favourite Ben Williams takes on Warren Spencer. Clearly still reeling from his title defence Deen looks ahead for his next opponent and calls out.. Shakur Stevenson. An impressive perfromance no doubt but something tells me the 22-0 undefeated WBC lightweight king and Olympic silver medallist might be a bridge too far.

We approach the halfway point of this clash and we have a real fight on our hands. Deen is starting to land clean but Fogarty's jab gives him something to think about every time he goes on the front foot. Great right hand from Fogarty gets the crowd on their feet but Deen responds with a counter that drops the Irishman to the canvas. Can Fogarty survive? Deen is searching for a finishing shot now as the clock runs down. He's down again! Two knockdowns in the round for the champion. IT'S OVER! The referee calls a stop to the fight and Deen the Great has retained his Misfits lightweight title.

Good right hand from Fogarty to open the second but Deen responds immediately. Very decent skill level on display here, especially when contrasted with tonight's opening fights. Fogarty's experience is allowing him to find opening to lance at the American with his lead hand. The Dublin crowd are absolutely loving this, but the momentum swings back in favour of the champion just before the bell sounds. Mail Sport scorecard: Deen the Great 9 (18)-(20) 10 David Fogarty

Frantic pace to start this opening round as both men connect well in the early exchanges. The Irishman is controlling the centre of the ring and keeping Deen on the outside. Fogarty is landing his jab and nicks the frame. Mail Sport scorecard: Deen the Great 9-10 David Fogarty

Deen the Great enters the ring doing his best Conor McGregor impression as he faces the UFC star's photographer. Fogarty has MMA experience but will he be able to topple the undefeated American? Misfits lightweight title on the line next as Deen the Great defends his belt against Dave Fogarty. Irishman Fogarty will have the crowd on his side, but can he do enough to take the belt?

Clarke is getting peppered with punches here. Every time he tries to get close to his opponent Hamed punishes him as he proceeds to land a right hand that leaves Clarke stumbling. Toughness is imperative in boxing, but it is not a quality that a fighter can rely solely on when he is so clearly outgunned. IT'S OVER! The towel gets thrown in to prevent Clarke taking any further punishement. Sami Hamed wins his debut by second-round TKO. Clarke applies the pressure early but Hamed is clearly the more comfortable puncher in the early going. Both fighters exchange straight punches after the referee has a word following an extended clinch. Hamed is really piling on the pressure and Clarke again looks to tie up. Every punch from Hamed is finding its intended target in this opening frame, Clarke does well just to see out the round. Mail Sport scorecard: Hamed 10-9 Clarke

After a short musical intermission, we will shortly back underway with tonight's in-ring action. Sami Hamed is the son of legendary former featherweight champion Prince Naseem and he is taking on fellow debutant Jesse Clarke over four rounds. Clarke insists his opponent is a failure if he cannot put him away in the first round... although it doesn't say much about his own chances.

Little break in the action here as the fans in attendance are treated to a live performance by KSI. Based on the muted reaction it appears the audience would rather be watching him inside the ring... A "f*** Jake Paul" chant seems to go down much better, however.

Tonight's event had originally been set to be headlined by KSI's return to the boxing ring in a 2v1 showdown against Slim and Anthony Taylor. The clash would have marked the 31-year-old's first fight since he suffered his first career defeat against Tommy Fury in October. However, an injury forced him to pull out, with the Danny vs Danny showdown taking up the headline spot in his absence. Fear not though KSI fans, we have been promised two seperate music performances from him this evening...

Once again we go to the judges but I doubt there'll be much contention around this one. Mike Edwards controlled the action from the opening bell and Jake Cornish appeared incapable of getting on the inside and landing anything of substance. The judges clearly agree and Edwards gets the victory and progesses to the semi-finals of the cruiserweight tournament.

We enter the final round and Cornish surely needs a knockout to have any hope of progressing in the cruiserweight tournament. Another round with very little in the way of real action but it is clear Edwards is running away with this fight on the scorecards. It's been a drab affair in all truth, on to the next. Mail Sport scorecard: Cornish 9 (45)-(50) 10 Edwards

Cornish appears to be in survival mode here. He's complaining that a shot in the clinch hit the back of his head. Crowd don't like the break in the action and we're back underway. Cornish's corner is begging him to throw the right hand but he continues to retreat towards the ropes as Edwards really fails to press his advantage. Mail Sport scorecard: Cornish 9 (36)-(40) 10 Edwards

Edwards clearly posesses some natural power, but can he set the big punch up? Cornish is resorting to clinching when his opponent gets in close. He has been firmly on the back foot from the opening bell and appears bereft of ideas at how he can actually connect outside of the overhand. Mail Sport scorecard: Cornish 9 (27)-(30) 10 Edwards

Cornish lands a big overhand right to open the second, he will need to keep looking for that as the fight progresses as he is having little success with his other shots. The Love Island star attempts a jab but he is getting nowhere near the 6ft 6in Edwards at distance. Sparse round - Edwards takes it with his activity. Mail Sport scorecard: Cornish 9 (18)-(20) 10 Edwards

In our second fight of the night we have former Love Island star Jake Cornish taking on high-jumper turned reality TV star Mike Edwards in a MFB Cruiserweight Tournament clash. Absolutely crazy height difference on display here, Cornish is going to need to get on the inside if whe wants to get his hand raised here. Edwards is trying to connect with straight punches but Cornish lands a decent overhand as the taller man attempts to get close. Scrappy opening round - Edwards edges it. Mail Sport scorecard: Cornish 9-10 Edwards

We go to the judges for our first fight of the night. In his cruiserweight debut Minikon wins by majority decision with one judge scoring it even and two finding in favour of the American by three rounds to two. It seemed DTG had done enough in the early going to get his hand raised but it goes the other way. The fatigue really seems to be troubling DTG in the final round.

The pace of both fighters has slowed considerably but neither man is taking a backwards step. Minikon lands possibly his best punch of the fight with an uppercut and starts to pile on the pressure but can he get the finish? DTG is offering nothing back as we enter the last 30 seconds but demonstrates incredible toughness to reach the final bell. We go to the judges and this one could go either way. Mail Sport scorecard: DTG 9 (48)-(47) 10 Minikon

Better action early in the fourth. Both these guys are really feeling the pace of the action but the punches keep on coming from both sides. Minikon follows up a decent jab with a looping right hand, this is better work from the American. Mail Sport scorecard: DTG 9 (39)-(37) 10 Minikon

DTG again goes right onto the front foot from the opening bell. It's not pretty but it does seem to be effective. Both fighters are showing signs of fatigue and there's still two rounds remaining... We're seeing a lot more clinching here but DTG is still landing the better shots as we enter the second half of the bout. Mail Sport scorecard: DTG 10 (30)-(27) 9 Minikon

Better start from Minikon here as he lands a good right hand and does good work in close. The 6ft 5in American's defence is proving porous however, and he is resorting to clinching when his opponent is able to close the distance. Closer round but DTG edges it on our scorecard. Mail Sport scorecard: DTG 10 (20)-(18) 9 Minikon

Our first fight is already underway as DTG takes on Minikon in the quarter-final of the MFB Cruiserweight Tournament. DTG opens with straight punches to the body before the pair fall into an early clinch. Minikon clearly has a significant advantage in height and reach but he's struggling to make it count thus far. DTG is pressing the action on the front foot and forcing his opponent to back up. Mail Sport scorecard: DTG 10-9 Minikon

Well that was embarrassing. Did Fensom train AT ALL?! And Fensom is down inside 13 seconds. He looks DREADFUL. And he's down again! AND AGAIN! IT'S ALL OVER! HS Tikky Tokky and George Fensom are walking to the ring. Mams crashed out but he’s 100% right. That fight was called way too early. I want a rematch Well that was eventful - and we still have three fights left. First up is HSTikkyTokky vs George Fensom with the former looking to put on a show against the Love Islander. Mams Taylor has branded the refereeing "attrocious" - the fans don't agree. The Misfits co-owner is furious and demands a rematch.

Williams landed several unanswered blows but Spencer looked to be in control and srtill had his hands up. Mams Taylor is livid though - don't be surprised if there is an immediate rematch. Spencer catches Williams' chin in the opening seconds but that serves only to anger the Dubliner and he responds with a flurry before the referee stops the fight. That was early. Spencer is straight on the front foot which appears to surprise Williams. But the home faovurite lands a straight left hand which rocks Spencer. Both guys are swinging and will surely burn out if they keep this up. Williams is beginning to settle down as Spencer is pushed on to his back foot. Another right from Williams lands as the pace slows down. A left from Williams connects but Spencer digs deep to respond. A cracking first session. Another home favourite Ben Williams takes on Warren Spencer in our next bout. Spencer is seemingly a friend of Andrew Tate, we'll see if that counts for much in the ring.

"I'm gutted, I came out here in front of the Irish crowd. I fed off them and thought I gave them a good show. He had me hurt but I felt it was an early stoppage. There were only a few seconds left of the round and if I had made it to the end of the round I would have been fine. "I thought I was winning the fight, I thought I had won every round up till then but that's boxing.He's a good champion, he hits hard but it's my first boxing fight and its only up from here. I think I can definitely take the belt in the rematch. He's a great champion, we had a little bit of back and forth in the build-up but it's all business." "I told you what I was going to do, everything I said I was going to do do, I did do. This is one of the best countries but its going to have to be changed to Deenland. I've been whooping up on all the influencers so get me Shakur Stevenson. Come and get yourself a real belt. Shakur, Ryan Garcia, I know he's suspended, let's run it on Misfits. All those pros were ducking so I respect the hell out of Dave." Deen landed a right hand which dumped Fogarty on the canvas as he retained his title - but not without a fight. Deen starts the third round as he finished the second and piles the pressure on Fogarty. The Irishman responds well and answers back but comes under more pressure in the final minute - and he touches down! That's a knockdown and Fogarty is in trouble here. And he's down in the final seconds! It's all over! Deen's timing has been on point thus far but Fogarty is landing shots of his own as he pops out a one-two. The challenger needs to add his right hand in, or double up his jab, rather than limit himself on jabs. But he pins Deen on the ropes and lands flush. Can he cause an upset?! A cracking right from Fogarty as the crowd responds. He is in charge of this round now. But a right from Deen sends Fogarty stumbling back! What a round! Fogarty ships a right hand but responds well with his left. The home crowd are up for this one but Deen looks composed in there. The 'champion' is happy to be patient and wait for Fogarty to throw first. An intriguing opening round. Why do they insist on introducing this as a world title fight. Alright, there's a belt on the line but please, just call it what it is. An interesting one this; Fogarty may be a photographer but he has a background in MMA so is no stranger to combat sports. But Deen The Great is one of the more skilled fighters in this scene so is expected to have the upper hand. Home favourite Dave Fogarty, photographer for Conor McGregor, takes on Deen The Great for the light-heavyweight title.

Hamed, as he should have been, was a class above his opponent. He said: "My dad was a legend but I'm nothing like what he is and the sooner the fans realise that the better. I'm so happy to be here and so happy to kick off my career by knocking out a bum like Jesse. I didn't do much boxing tonight but he's an awkward opponent. I beat that boy like he stole something." More of the same as Hamed lands right hand after right hand. Clarke's left eye is black and blue as Hamed launches another attack in the corner. And the fight is all over as Clarke's corner throws in the towel with under a minute of the round left. Clarke appeared to argue with his corner but the referee had no choice but to wave the fight off. Clarke comes out to Zombie by the Cranberries which is always going to get a Dublin crowd on its feet. How long he stays on his is another question however. We have four three-minute rounds here. Hamed is on the front foot from the first bell but Clarke does respond well, albeit briefly. Clarke tries to hold on after less than a minute, he knows this isn't MMA, right? Hamed connects with a left hook before launching an onslaught on Clarke who does well to stay upright. Clarke to his credit attempts to respond he ships first a left then a right. How Clarke hasn't gone down is beyond me but he manages to hear the bell. Sami Hamed is up next as he takes on Jesse Clarke whom I have never heard of, if I'm honest. Google describes him as an 'internet personality' which is of little help.

That wasn't too bad, to be fair. He's promising one for the OGs now (not me). Down LIke That, featuring S-X, to be specific. Not really my bag if I'm being honest. Back to the fighting, please. I wouldn't know where in his back catalogue this was but apparently it's hot off the press. It's called Low. It's definitely in the top two tracks he's performed so far. "F*** Jake Paul," he tells the crowd who respond in kind. Why not fight him then? Has anyone seen KSI without a bottle of Prime recently? He's on stage with a yellow one, no idea which flavour that is. Anyway, he's just belted out a track called Lambourghini. Not my fav. Before the fights resume, KSI is going to sing. Get all the boxing & MMA updates you need with our Mirror Fighting email update - sign up here

Published: 15:13 EDT, 31 August 2024 | Updated: 16:33 EDT, 31 August 2024

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Get all the boxing & MMA updates you need with our Mirror Fighting email update - sign up here By Adrian Bishop Published: 15:13 EDT, 31 August 2024 | Updated: 16:33 EDT, 31 August 2024 View comments We are now just one fight away from tonight's featured fight. Before we see the showdown of the Danny's however, there's still a Misfit title defence to look foward to. Following a middling MMA career, Anthony Taylor has become one of the breakout stars in the influencer scene and has been in there with the likes of Tommy Fury, King Kenny and Salt Papi. Tonight he defends his light heavyweight belt against Gabe Silva, son of the UFC legend Anderson. There appears to be a significant size disparity in Silva's favour be can he make it count here in Dublin?

Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group