Issue 108
December 2013
The unknown fighters who left their mark on the records of MMA’s biggest stars. ‘One Punch’ may be collecting bonus checks in the UFC’s bantamweight division now, but he learned the pain of defeat in only his second fight.
Before he slapped on a picture perfect Peruvian necktie at WEC 45, and way before he became known as one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC, Brad ‘One Punch’ Pickett was a young scrapper from East London trying to make a name for himself.
After a successful debut with UK outfit Cage Rage in November 2004, Pickett was being touted as the next big thing. But his hype train was shunted the following February by a veteran named Chris Freeborn. Despite last competing back in 2006, the 9-17 Brit relives a career high with FO.
You started training in MMA at a time when the sport wasn’t that popular. Who were you training with back in the day?
“I used to train with this guy called Darren Richardson and then I met Doug Freeman who was from the same town as me. We started going around assembling the cage for events. One day I was asked if I was interested in having a fight myself and I was up for it. At the time I wasn’t actually training in mixed martial arts, I was just training in traditional martial arts.
“After my first few training sessions I realized fighting was something I wanted to do. If I’m being honest, I was ready to jump into the cage near enough straight away. I never really got much notice in regards to fights; I always got offered the fight and I’d always say yes. I knew if I didn’t take a fight I probably wouldn’t get any more. That’s why I never turned any down.”
Had there been any buzz regarding Pickett before your fight? Did you know much about him before you two fought?
“I didn’t know much about him but I’d seen him fight before; I knew he was being hyped up to be something quite big. Honestly, I wasn’t too impressed with him, so when I went out there and fought him I knew that he didn’t have anything I couldn’t beat.
“It wasn’t the hardest of fights, but it wasn’t the easiest of fights either. He’s obviously a lot better now and he’s definitely got a lot of heart. I’m pleased to see he’s doing well now. There’s no quit in him.”
Did you think Brad was going to be as successful as he’s become?
“In all honesty I didn’t think he was going to be as successful as he’s become. I really didn’t. He has a lot of heart and the right people behind him and that’s helped him achieve what he’s been able to do.”
It was a pretty good fight between you. How much do you remember?
“I remember everything about the fight. I knew Brad was a good boxer but I was positive that he wasn’t going to be able to get near me because I’ve got a good reach advantage over him. I knew my best chance of winning was to take him down. I’d also done lots of sparring with a bigger guy who was always trying to knock my head off so I was used to whatever Brad was going to bring to the fight. I knew I had to close the gap before he got a good amount of shots off and wear him down. At the end of the fight I sunk in the triangle but I couldn’t finish it so I just kept picking away at him until the referee stopped it.”
Are you still training MMA or have you given it up now?
“I still train Brazilian jiu-jitsu and I do a bit of boxing and, sometimes, MMA too. I haven’t fought in six years but I’ll fight again in around six months’ time.”
