Banbury bare-knuckle fighter eyes future glory as he gets British title shot this month

Bradley Scott, the former UFC fighter who now spends time training and coaching at the Banbury Martial Arts Centre, is determined to give his long and illustrious fighting career a happy ending.

Scott fought in the UFC for around eight years after joining the giant promotion through its reality TV series The Ultimate Fighter before making a switch to boxing, and then targeting the bare-knuckle route.

Scott, now 33, had drifted away from the gym but returned to combat sports and joining the top bare-knuckle boxing promotion last year.

The fighter used to have aspirations to climb into the professional boxing ring but decided to go to the pub instead. He said: "I was going to get a pro boxing licence around five years ago.

"I used to train with (former British middleweight champion) Nick Blackwell, and he was a beast. We would spar for 10 rounds with only a 30 second break in between rounds.

"But I just lost motivation. I didn’t bother sending off my forms. I stopped going to the gym and started chilling out with my friends instead."

Scott rediscovered his love for competing when he stepped in to fight bare-knuckle on a small show last year. His quick knockout victory caught the eye of BKB, and he shortly after signed with the leading promoter in the sport.

In his debut contest for BKB, Scott made a name for himself by impressively knocking out Andre "The Norwegian Nightmare" Lovli inside a round in front of a sold-out crowd at The O2.

Talking about the one-sided affair, Scott said: "It was about levels, and sometimes it’s hard fighting someone who isn’t at your level. He was wild and unorthodox, and it took me about a minute to settle down and then find the right punches."

The Banbury-based brawler originally from Melksham will face his hardest test yet without the gloves, on Sunday, March 26 when he returns to London to challenge Leicester fighter Ryan Barrett for his British Cruiserweight title.

Speaking about the exciting domestic match-up with Barrett, Scott said: "I only landed three punches in my last fight, and I know this is going to be a much tougher test."He is tough, hard, and fit, which is good for a bareknuckle boxer. He is also pretty skilful too and seems a bit crazy, but I’m going to smash his teeth in.

"I hit hard, I’m long and quicker than I look, and I’m in 10 times better shape than I was for my first fight. I was 104 kg for that, and now I have to get down to 95 kg for this."

Scott already has his eyes on fighting for the promotions world heavyweight title if he successfully claims the cruiserweight crown at this month’s BKB 31 event.

He said: "I’ve signed a three-year contract with BKB and want to win this cruiserweight title, maybe make a defence or two, and then move up to heavyweight. I know I can beat the (world) heavyweight champion, Dan Podmore."

To buy tickets for the event or more information, visit https://bkbworld.co.uk/