Issue 139
March 2016
Win or lose, Brad Pickett proves why he’s one of Dana White’s favorite fighters to watch.
Dialogue
Brad Pickett, UFC bantamweight
Alias: One Punch
Age: 37
Team: American Top Team
Record: 24-11
Taste of gold
vs. Ozzy Haluk
Cage Rage 13 (09/10/2005)
Pickett recalls: “Around the time of this fight, there was a documentary for a UK TV channel following me. They were following me a couple years before then, but I actually suffered my first loss while they were following me and nothing happened with the TV program after that.
“Then they started following me again and I ended up winning the featherweight belt against a guy who was supposed to be really good. I actually won by jumping head stomp in the second round. I stomped on the guy’s head because it was a new rule they’d brought in for that event. Winning the Cage Rage British championship was a big moment for me so early in my career.”
Mother’s day
vs. Hiroyuki Abe
Cage Rage 16 (04/22/2006)
“My first international opponent was an important fight for me. It was a really good scrap because he was tough. I dropped him a few times and I’d hurt my hand a week before the fight. I bruised it quite badly. In the fight, for the first round it didn’t hurt me as much. Then it got to the stage because my adrenaline wore off a little bit and it was really hurting when I was punching.
“So I started throwing elbows instead and I actually did really well. I was hitting him with loads of elbows and it felt really good. I won that fight by decision and that was a good one.
“Also, my mum watched that fight and she never really came to watch me fight when I used to box or do anything. That was actually the last fight she watched before she passed away. That was a good moment for me.”
WEC welcome
vs. Kyle Dietz
WEC 45 (12/19/2009)
“I always wanted to fight in Las Vegas because it’s the fight capital of the world. It was my debut for WEC, and that was a big thing because all the best guys in the world in my weight class fought there. I’d gone to a few WECs before because Mike Brown (ATT teammate) was the champion of the weight class above. That’s how I got to meet Sean Shelby, network and get myself in.
“Making my debut was quite funny because I won by a really rare submission: a Peruvian necktie. Back in those days, I was earning $2,000 to show up and $2,000 to win, but the bonuses were $10,000. I remember winning by submission and this was back in the day when they did ‘Submission’ ‘Knockout’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ and I was the second fight on the card. Luckily I did get the bonus, so it was a great debut for me in the biggest organization for me at the time. That was a really big stepping stone in my career.”
One Punch style
vs. Yves Jabouin
UFC on Fuel TV 5 (09/29/2012)
“It’s nice to live up to having a nickname like ‘One Punch’ once in a while (laughs). I hadn’t had a knockout in quite a few fights and it was long overdue. I was happy to do that with a good knockout.
“My UFC debut in England against Renan Barao didn’t go very well for me, so in my next fight in England I wanted to get back to winning and I had a load of people there. To win by knockout and do my Gangnam Style celebration was epic because I did it when it was just right.”
Fight for the fans
vs. Thomas Almeida
UFC 189 (07/11/2015)
“It’s been a bit of an up-and-down roller coaster recently but even in my last fight, even though I lost, it was a good fight and the stage it was on was massive. Having 12,000 people watch you for a weigh-in was just mental.
“With it being the start of the Reebok deal, it being in Las Vegas and it being the first time I fought on a pay-per-view card was good. I’ve been on pay-per-views before but I was always on the prelims. Being on a pay-per-view main card was a big thing for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t win the fight but I was happy with my first-round performance and I looked really good.”
SOCCER STRENGTH
Boxing beginnings
Pickett began his combat sports journey by taking up boxing to increase his upper-body strength for soccer. Within three months, he was offered his first fight and had an impressive 11-1 amateur career, featuring seven wins by knockout.
