Former IFL Seattle Tiger Shark, Shad Lierley, takes on former Elite XC Champion, Wilson Reis, in the opening round of the Bellator Fighting Championships' 8-man Featherweight Tournament this Thursday April 15th in Chicago. NW Fightscene's Steve "Spaniard" Valentine had a chance to speak with Lierley before the fight...

NW Fightscene: Shad, how are you feeling and how's training been going for you?
Shad Lierley: Man, I feel great! I've been doing my training camp down in Texas. Roger Huerta and I have the same manager, and he put together a great camp for me. So I'm training with Roger, Yves Edwards, Jared Hess, Dave Menne and just a bunch of really good training partners are down here to push us. We've been doing two a days and sometimes three a days and just pushing it really hard. So my cardio is looking good. And its just good to be focused.

NWFS: Your opponent, Wilson Reis, tell us a little bit about him.
Lierley: He's a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu ace. His game plan is basically to take you down and try to submit you. He's really strong on top. He's a former Elite XC Featherweight Champ. So you know he's a game opponent and I'm looking forward to fighting him.

NWFS: You're fighting a world-class BJJ black belt. I'm sure you've faced some BJJ black belts before. Have you had to change anything in your game plan for him?
Lierley: Like you said, I've gone against really good jiu-jitsu guys and some of them are world class. And if it goes to the ground I'm going to come up on you. I'm not really that worried about it. But I don't want to play into anybody's strengths. So my game plan is to go out there... he's a southpaw so I worked with Yves Edwards who's also a southpaw, and just worked on different positioning and sprawl and brawl.

NWFS: How do you see this fight going for you?
Lierley: I think its probably going to be a battle. I'm really going to go off hard and I'd like to knock him out. I don't know if he's ever really been truly tested. All his fights he just kind of grinds out, grinds out, grinds out, and I'm hoping to put an end to that and get him with a straight right. That's what southpaws are open to and I'm planning on hitting him with one.

NWFS: As for the show, Bellator, what's that like?
Lierley: I've actually fought for them once before, last season on the undercard. Its a great promotion. They're taking care of the fighters. They cut corners in other ways but they do that in order to pay the fighters more. As a fighter, I really appreciate that. There's that good distribution as far as television deals so I'm really happy to be fighting for them. 

NWFS: And this is airing on TV?
Lierley: Yeah, it's live on Fox Sports which is nationwide. But I think only 80 percent of the network is carrying it live, and you have to check local listings whether its going to be live or not. And then there's going to be a highlight show on NBC and Telemundo on the weekends.

NWFS: Besides fighting, what are some things you like to do in your off time?
Lierley: If I had to say one thing I like to do, I'd have to say its traveling. I love going to new places and just trying new things, and experiencing new cultures. Just getting on an airplane, I don't really care where its at, as long as its new. I also like motor sports, getting on a quad and going to down to some dunes. Or doing anything that has to do with motor sports. 

NWFS: Good luck Shad on your fight. Anyone you'd like to thank?
Lierley: I'd like to thank everybody in Seattle that helped me get ready. West Coast Fight Team. Ivan Salaverry. And definitely thank my camp down in Texas.

I'd also like to thank my sponsors which are Clinch Gear, V2 Vodka & Ultimate Bet.

NW Fightscene would like to thank Shad for taking the time to speak with us.

Catch him fighting Wilson Reis in the opening round of the Bellator Featherweight Tournament this coming Thursday, April 15th on Fox Sports Net (Check local listings for time). More info on the tournament is at Bellator.com.

Check out Shad online at ShadLierley.net and at Facebook.com/ShadLierley.