By Omar CaLiph @MrCwrench
I arrived to Lion Fight Promotions 10 just in time to see the remaining three bouts of the main card. And after making my brief meet-and-greet rounds I settled in for the much anticipated match of Lucy Payne (pictured, centre) vs Tiffany “Timebomb” van Soest for the featherweight title.
In combat sports it is difficult to make predictions even with an undefeated champion and a challenger with 25 professional wins. I prefer to leave those odds to the sports-books, who had Payne -5 and Van Soest +2. From the beginning I wondered if Payne was following the strategy of her camp as she allowed “Timebomb” to tick soon after the opening bell.
“I just didn’t follow the game plan, and I made a mistake by backing up,” said Payne after the her loss 2:30 in the first round via TKO. Less than a minute into the exhibition Van Soest led with a fake flying knee followed by a left hook, which made question – “Did she make that up especially for Lucy, and skeptics who believed Payne had been ducked because of her height advantage. The answer is probably yes as the commentator confirmed after the move, “I haven’t seen that before.”
Moments later Tiffany pulled an okie doe again by pretending to go for a toss that opened up her opponent for the finishing combination. “I thought the match would end in the first or the fifth,” explained the Poster Girl of Muay Thai, who never allowed her UK challenger to execute the clinches strategy.
Touch Gloves coach Nathan Kitchen thought the bout could’ve went in Payne’s favor if the two fighters tied up, but was relieved it ended without any controversy. “Tiffany won fair and square…we would like to come back for a rematch,” said Kitchen. Whether that will happen or not is of course determined by LFP President/CEO Scott Kent and team.
Kent, Kitchen, and Payne were all in agreement that despite Lucy’s impressive record LFP 10 was the biggest stage she’d ever performed on, which may have contributed to the nervous approach. However, Payne didn’t lose hope stating, “I still think I can beat her…I want a rematch”
Lucy and Tiffany immediately displayed good sportsmanship in the ring and the following day when both camps exchanged farewells and hugs. Guess that’s “Timebombs” softer side as well all know; including Payne, “she hits hard.” For full results and more interviews visit www.lionfightpromotions.com. Thank you Scott for another great event.
