Lucy Payne talks upcoming fight with Tiffany Van Soest at Lion Fight 10

21 year
old Lucy Payne will be fighting in the biggest fight of her career when she
takes on Tiffany Van Soest at Lion Fight 10 on July 26th in Las Vegas. The fight will
be broadcast live on AXS TV and the winner will walk away with the Lion Fight
women’s world featherweight title. There has also been a little back and forth
talking amongst both camps since January.

Lucy was
kind enough to take time from her busy training to talk to Muay Thai Authority
about the upcoming fight.

MTA: Lucy
you have a big fight coming up against Tiffany Van Soest at Lion Fight 10. How
has training been going?

Lucy: Really great, I work lots as a beautician so can’t get into the gym as
often as I’d like to but I am very focused for this fight, training very hard
and really looking forward to my American debut.

MTA: There was some back and forth talking between your camp and hers before
this fight. What lead to that?

Lucy: Its such a shame but it looks like I’m heading for a career where lying
and corruption are writhe much like Julie Kitchens. In my opinion, to be beaten
in competition isn’t half as distressing as the politics that go on before and
after a big fight like this. I have seen and have copies of the emails that
lost me the opportunity in January because I was “too tall” and I know for a
fact that Nathan sent the emails to tiffany and everyone else who verbally
attacked him about it so its obvious that telling the truth isn’t a priority
with their camp as it is still being denied fully.

MTA: After her fight against Alexis Rufus Tiffany called you out, what were
your thoughts when she did that?

Lucy: I was very pleased and respected her highly for it. Call outs are healthy
for the sport and helps negotiate the best fights. Nathan and Julie always
talked of America
and how great the people were and how accepted they was out there, so I have
always wanted this fight.
Nathan rates Tiffany very highly as a strong, skillful fighter and I want to
test myself against the best fighters in the world.

MTA: What do you think about Tiffany as a fighter, any strengths and weaknesses
you see?

Lucy: To be honest, I don’t do any checks on my opponents; I don’t read their
fan pages or Google them or anything like that. Nathan has a game plan and
that’s what I’ll go with. I’m a very disciplined fighter, train very hard and I
will concentrate on making weight and performing well. Tiffany is an obstacle
in my career and I intend to hurdle her to achieve my goals. If I fall flat, then
so be it but at least I now have the chance to prove myself.

MTA:
You will be fighting in Vegas and the crowd will likely be on her side.
Does the crowd support have any type of affect come fight night?

Lucy: Not really, I would like a few cheers of support but it’s not important.
My main worry is that I get to fight under the same set of rules as my opponent
unlike Julie v Miriam where only Julie was told she couldn’t elbow downward but
Miriam clearly wasn’t. This kind of mistake is not at all fair and I just want
to win, lose or draw without controversy as I’m sure Tiffany does.

MTA: For fight fans not familiar with you can you let them know a little about
yourself and your fighting style, what can they expect?

Lucy: I only train Muay Thai and have done since 14 years old so my style is
purist to the sport, I have fought K1 style, but only at a higher weight so I’m
not sure what my true strengths are under those rules. The American fight fans
can expect a very tough fight with 2 outstanding females at world level under
full rules, there will be action and there will be blood spilled.

MTA: You train with Julie Kitchen, how is training with a legend like her?

Lucy: Julie is a fantastic person inside and outside the ring, very
professional and a fantastic sparring partner for me alongside being a true
friend. She has now separated from Nathan and lives /works in Holland but is still involved heavily in the
sport through “Enfusion”.



It’s
devastating for any of their close friends to have the knowledge that their
split was due to pressure, lies and politics surrounding the sport but it has
had no bearing on my training with either of them or Touchgloves gym in
general. I can only clarify what anyone who is a realistic Muay Thai fan would
say…Julie Kitchen is the true “Queen of Muay Thai”, some hated her for it and
built their successes by manufacturing a win either by bending the rules or
weigh ins to suit but the fact remains that no-one who beat her would rematch
her and yet she offered rematches to everyone she beat. As a world level
fighter, this says a lot to me and I am someone who is proud to follow in her
footsteps.

MTA: Can we get a prediction for your fight with Tiffany?

Lucy: If it goes 5 rounds then I guess Tiffany will win because she is signed
to the promotion etc, etc, but I will be intending on a stoppage win regardless.
I will do my best, if that’s not enough then I will congratulate Tiffany fully
and get back to training whatever weaknesses I expose to her. I am 21 years old
so have a massive future in the sport regardless of what my fight record
becomes. Some people in Britain are insecure enough to use my losses as a 16
year old against me to promote themselves but in a way I’m glad I’m not
undefeated as I have learned so much from my losses and improve from them. Julie
and Miriam are 36 years old and still the worlds best so I have a few years to
develop yet.

MTA: Any words for your supporters?

Lucy: Thank you so much for your continued support and thanks to my sponsor “The
Allotment”. I am very proud to be in Vegas fighting on such a prestigious show
for their version of a world title and I will bring my a-game to give the fans
my all in the ring.