Issue 030
October 2007
Brad 'One Punch' Pickett – former Cage Rage champion, BodogFIGHT and K-1 HERO’s veteran and all-round nice guy – allowed us a peek into his life while he was busy preparing for a fight on Cage Rage ‘Contenders’ fight in August.
8.15am: After a quick orange juice, Brad is off for a run in the park near his flat. He was born in Whitechapel and, after spending his childhood years in India (because of his father's work) and Northamptonshire, he returned to the East End of London when he was 21. He now lives in Bethnal Green with his brother and a friend. He's not a keen runner, so his running partner Lee Hutchinson keeps him going! They run for an hour and sprint the last 15 minutes.
10.15am: Brad heads over to Team Titan in Enfield, north London for an hour of light grappling sparring with Michael Pastou (overseen by head coach Mickey Papas). Brad chose Team Titan because he not only respects Mickey's knowledge of MMA and they get on really well. Brad also travels regularly to Florida to train at the American Top Team with stars such as Denis Kang, Marcus Aurelio, JZ Calvancanti and Mike Thomas Brown.
11.45am: Post-training snack with Michael and Demitris Papas. Brad usually has a jacket potato, but today it's just tuna, sweetcorn and baked beans. Only six days out from a fight, he's got another three kilos to lose!
1pm: Back home in Bethnal Green to check messages from fans and friends on MySpace, which along with playing computer games takes up a lot of his free time. Brad boxed for a few years when he was younger and played soccer to quite a high level, but he stopped playing to concentrate fully on MMA.
3pm: Tired and dizzy from lack of food, Brad takes a siesta before his second training session this evening.
5.30pm: Brad meets his manager and Cage Rage commentator Rob Nutley at Pancrase London in Bethnal Green. They go over details for his fight – which shorts he'll be wearing, sponsorship, his weight, if he's got everything he needs for Saturday
6pm: One to one training with Ashley Grimshaw at Pancrase London. It's difficult for Brad and Ashley to find other featherweights, so training together is a great help, especially in the run up to fights (Ashley's got a fight coming up in November). The first 30 minutes is cardio – press ups with the medicine ball, squats with the ball, sandbag work, jumping, slamming, gorilla walk and punching, not to mention the focus pads, shadow boxing and sparring. After a short break, its on to more sparring for another 30 minutes.
7.30pm: Brad picks up his girlfriend Sarah from the tube station to buy some food for dinner. They've been together 18 months and met through Russell, Brad's brother. They've got a great relationship and Sarah watches all his fights, but admits she doesn't understand what's happening on the ground at all! Russell's usually in charge of cooking (and is very fussy about ingredients!). Brad and Sarah help out. Tonight it’s salmon, chicken, salad and vegetables.
8pm: Tottenham Hotspurs are playing Everton tonight. Brad and Russell are huge Spurs fans – and Spurs have equalised! They eat dinner at half-time - football comes first!
End Note: Brad went on to win his fight on Cage Rage ‘Contenders’ via third round TKO! The hard work obviously paid off – well done Brad.
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