James Lilley’s pen dries up when he’s preparing for battle.
Lilley – BKFC’s warrior poet – has made a name for himself with his twin passions for poetry and bare knuckle fighting. But he has just one public reading on his schedule before his next BKFC fight.
“I’ve got a couple of poems that I’ll be performing (at The Swansea Fringe Festival), but it goes quite quiet when I’ve got a fight coming up,” Lilley says. “I can’t seem to do them both at the same time; my mind can’t really focus on anything but the fight.”
Lilley has been a part of some massive matchups in the past, but his bout with Felipe Maia at BKFC on DAZN: Spain on Oct. 12 could be his biggest yet. Lilley has fallen short in back-to-back fights, so he’s hungry to prove that he’s still one of the top dogs in BKFC’s bustling welterweight division. The losses have come against elite competition – former two-division BKFC World Champion Luis Palomino and undefeated BKFC Spain headliner Franco Tenaglia – but that comes as little consolation for the hard-hitting Welshman.
“I think a lot of people are overlooking me, but I’ve got a few more chapters to write before I call it a day. This fight is super important for me to get back on track and get back up the rankings,” he says.
“I’ve changed my approach a bit for this fight. It’s more about me than my opponent, so we’re playing to our strengths and we’ve been working a lot on developing strength when I’m not in camp, which is something I haven’t done before.”
Lilley is eager to help introduce BKFC, the world’s fastest growing combat sports promotion, to Spain in the promotion’s debut at the historic Marbella Arena.
“I’ve fought in Britain a lot, so it’s nice to get out there and see the world,” he says. “It’ll be nice to go to Spain on business because I’ve only ever been there on holidays. As BKFC grows and expands into more and more countries, I want to be one of the fighters that they use when branching out. These are the kind of fights that keep me the most motivated.”
