“You come at the king, you best not miss.”

Those words were famously spoken by Omar Little on the iconic HBO show, The Wire, but they could’ve easily first been uttered by James “Lights Out” Lilley.

In the Main Event of BKFC 45 on June 23 in Hollywood, FL, Lilley takes on Luis Palomino, the undisputed King of Bare Knuckle Fighting, for Palomino’s BKFC World Lightweight Championship, LIVE on The BKFC App.

Palomino is the only fighter to ever sit atop BKFC’s Pound-for-Pound rankings. He’s also the only combatant to ever win their first eight bouts in the famed Squared Circle.

“This is a fight that I’ve dreamt about for a long, long time,” Lilley says on the eve of his must-see showdown with the champ. “I want to be in there with the best that I can possibly face, and that is Palomino.”

Like the champ, Lilley is also undefeated. His 7-0-1 bare knuckle fighting record includes three impressive wins since signing with BKFC in 2022. The battle-tested Welshman is going for his third KO under the BKFC banner.

Lilley isn’t satisfied to just be a title challenger in BKFC’s stacked lightweight division. He’s got his sights set on being the weight classes’ title holder.

“I’m going to shock the world,” he says.

“I bring a different skill set to what he’s faced before. It’s my time.”