411 MMA Interviews: Brad Pickett

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 10.27.2011

Brad Pickett makes his UFC debut at UFC 138. Before that, he checks in with 411mania.com for an exclusive interview. Brad Pickett talks about his injury layoff, fighting in his home country of England, beating Demetrious Johnson who went on to fight for the UFC title, his upcoming fight with Renan Barao, and more.

Former WEC Bantamweight, Brad Pickett (21-4, MMA; 3-1, WEC; 0-0, UFC), makes his long awaited UFC debut on November 5 at UFC 138 against Renan Barao (26-1, MMA; 2-0, WEC; 1-0, UFC). Pickett is coming off a win in his last fight over Ivan Menjivar last December at WEC 53 which he won by decision. Pickett will be returning to his home country of England where he began his MMA career to make his debut in the Octagon. In April of 2010, Pickett also defeated Demetrious Johnson at WEC 48 on PPV. Pickett was originally set to face UFC bantamweight and former WEC champion, Miguel Torres, in May but had to bow out of the fight due to injury. In his place, Johnson stepped in and went on to beat Torres and eventually compete for the UFC Bantamweight Championship. I recently got the chance to speak with Brad Pickett during his training camp as he prepares for his next, big fight:



Jeffrey Harris: So where are you in training right now?

Brad Pickett: At the moment, I'm halfway through training camp at American Top Team. I've got about three weeks left here and then I go back to England for two weeks. And then I'll be back here for a week and then go back to England the week before the fight.

Jeffrey Harris: It's been a while since your last fight. This fight is a long time coming for you. You ended your WEC run at 3-1 and you're coming off a win. You are coming back from some injuries. So what does it mean to you to finally be making your UFC debut in your home country?

Brad Pickett: It's great. I'm really looking forward to it. There's still about five weeks left in training though fingers crossed nothing goes wrong in those five weeks. It's been going very well so far. So there's five more weeks of training and sparring, and yeah I'm very excited to make my UFC debut back in England. It's a long time coming.

Jeffrey Harris: Can you elaborate on your injuries at all and are you feeling better now?

Brad Pickett: Yeah. I was getting ready for my fight with Miguel Torres back in May and I hurt my back and it gave me a lot of trouble when I was trying to like train – still trying to train for the fight as much as I could because I didn't want to pull out of the fight. I really loved the match-up and loved the fight. Basically, if I had that fight I'd be in Demetrious Johnson's shoes right now. But it is what it is. But I've been away . . . UFC really helped me out there with my medical bills. I got some very good treatment back in England and in America. And now I'm back training and my back's holding up. I just need to be a little bit more tender with my training. I need to be a little bit more careful.

Jeffrey Harris: I was disappointed you didn't get the fight with Miguel Torres because I thought that was a great fight and match-up and I saw you winning that fight. I think your striking would've presented a lot of problems for Torres. Do you think Torres has looked as dangerous as he used to be?

Brad Pickett: It's not the case of he doesn't look as strong as he used to be. I just think styles make fights. And I really honestly believe Miguel to me was a perfect style match-up for me. I'm not saying I'm a much better fighter than he is, just sometimes styles make fights. He can beat somebody. I can beat him and somebody can beat me. That's how this sport is. I just really enjoyed and like that match-up and like you say he's a very big name . . . it's a win/win situation when you fight that sort of caliber person. So I was really gutted that I couldn't have that fight, but Demetrious took it and he did well. I believed Demetrious was going to win the fight. I believe Miguel's worked on it a lot but I just don't believe that his wrestling is up to par now with a lot of guys in the division. And I think wrestling now is the most important aspect in the game. It's not Miguel's fault. It's just the way that the judges are scoring fights. Back a few years ago, maybe that fight with Demetrious Johnson that Miguel had, he would've won the fight due to how they judged it back in the day. But now, it's very much favored toward wrestlers. That's why Demetrious Johnson won that fight. He out-wrestled Miguel.

Jeffrey Harris: And to show how interesting the sport is, you beat the top contender for the UFC bantamweight title, Demetrious Johnson, at WEC 48. And Johnson was undefeated until you beat him. And he's fighting for the title. Does that elevate your win more, considering you beat this guy and then he went on this amazing run and goes for the UFC belt?

Brad Pickett: Yeah. I've got no animosity toward him. I like DJ very well on a personal level. I think he's a really nice guy. He's a very good fighter. And when you beat someone you want actually want them to go on and do well because when I beat him he wasn't much of a – he was a bit of an unknown. He just came into the WEC. He was unbeaten. There was a lot of hype about him, but he hadn't beaten the guys yet he's obviously beaten now . . . and to beat that caliber fighter, it just really shows me that I'm up thereabouts. And I wish him all the best. And if anything, it's good for me if he wins because it'd be a really good rematch.

Jeffrey Harris: It's been a bit of a long layoff for you. There is always a lot of talk about ring rust. Of course you train with a great team and some great guys. What is your take on the ring rust issue?

Brad Pickett: I dunno. It was a bit of an experience as it was. It may affect me a little bit, but I've fought for years now and . . . I've been fighting on a daily basis in that way just because it's not in the cage and it's not on TV, it doesn't mean that I haven't been fighting. No . . . I'm old and white you know. I actually didn't mean to say that . . . but I don't think ring rust is going to be an issue. I know what I've got to do and I'm going to apply that and that's how I get the job done.

Jeffrey Harris: Your opponent Renan Barao is 26-1. He won his last two fights in the WEC by submission. He won his debut fight in the UFC against Cole Escovedo by decision, though I think that was a pretty close fight and arguably should've gone to Escovedo. What kind of challenges do you think Barao poses for you?

Brad Pickett: I think he's a very well-rounded opponent, and I think he's a more dangerous opponent than Miguel Torres. He's not a big name, but I'm a professional and if they put a name in front of me, and no matter whom they put in front of me, I'm going to go in there and get the job done. That's my job. That's what I'm employed to do. I can't take anyone lightly . . . Cole Escovedo was probably his biggest fight. I like Cole as well, but Cole Escovedo is not me and nowhere near anything like me. I believe I'd beat Cole 10 times out of 10, so I can't gauge on that fight alone but I'm not worried about what he's going to do as much as he needs to be concerned what I'm going to do. If I go in there like I possibly can, I should come away with the win. And if I don't come away with the win and I perform like I can, then I got beat by the better man. So I'm just really worried about me. I don't really discuss too much about my plans.

Jeffrey Harris: You've got really good striking and boxing and a good ground game to go along with it. But being in a fight with a BJJ black belt, do you want to keep it standing more?

Brad Pickett: In my opinion in MMA, a BJJ black belt doesn't mean a lot in MMA anymore in my eyes. I've rolled around with a lot of tougher guys who give me a lot more trouble than a lot of BJJ black belts. BJJ is a completely different sport than MMA. It's a lot different, the same as wrestling. There's wresting for wrestling and there's wrestling in MMA. There is striking for striking and then there is striking in MMA. It's a lot different. Being a black belt doesn't bother me. I've rolled around with people like Marcelo Garcia – loads of high level black belt guys. So it's not a case of, oh he's a black belt, I'm really worried. It doesn't mean the same thing. Sometimes I like match-ups against black belts because I basically think they match up well with me.

Jeffrey Harris: Do you feel a lot of pressure because you are making your debut on a UFC card in England and you are one of the last WEC guys who hasn't fought in the UFC? And are you worried about the proverbial "Octagon Jitters" people talk about a lot?

Brad Pickett: Yeah, it's going to be a little pressure I guess. But the only pressure really I have is the pressure I put on myself and that's just to perform at my best. Having more people there doesn't make a difference. If anything that hypes me up more and makes me more determined to win because you don't want to lose in front of more people. [If you lose] If you fight with a few people watching you, it doesn't matter if you get beat. You don't want thousands of people watching you get beat. It just drives you a little bit more, you know.

Jeffrey Harris: At WEC 50 you had that great fight with Scott Jorgensen. It was Fight of the Night and one of the best fights of the year. I was a little anxious watching that fight because I'm a big fan of you and Scott Jorgensen. I gave you the first round, but I think Jorgensen edged out the rest. Do you want to talk about that fight at all?

Brad Pickett: It was a major fight just to be involved in. Scott Jorgensen is a tough guy and obviously I don't think I fought as smart as I could, I just got involved in a war where he does as well and that's what made for such an exciting fight. And it was a lot closer than you could see if you just look at the judges' scorecard and than just see the fight. Sometimes now, a 10-9 round could be a close 10-9 round or it could be an absolute pasting. But he [Jorgensen] did well just to win key points of rounds to beat me in those rounds. He'd get a takedown and ride time and be on top – it was close and very sensitive but I gave him that win. But obviously like yourself, I just thought I won that first round.

Jeffrey Harris: After that fight, you fought and beat Ivan Menjivar at the last WEC card at WEC 53. How'd you feel about the fight and did it feel good to get that win coming off a loss?

Brad Pickett: Yeah of course. I had my first WEC fight and then I had Demetrious Johnson who no one knew about at the time. And then I beat him. And then I fought Scott Jorgensen and I got beat by Scott Jorgensen. And then I had Ivan Menjivar coming off a loss. At the time, Ivan Menjivar had been around for a long time and that was a I wasn't looking forward to. It was like man, this guy is tough. He's really good and really tough and not a lot of people know about him. He hadn't been around for such a long time. I knew about him before I even got into that fight. He's been around for such a long time and he's such a good fighter. But because he took a little bit of a layoff, he was nowhere near the name he could've been if I had fought him at his prime. But I was really glad to come away with the win and he's a really nice guy. He's a very good notch to have on my belt.

Jeffrey Harris: Are there any sponsors or people you would like to thank or give a shout out to?

Brad Pickett: Sure I would like to thank my sponsors: JACO; Team Genetic for my supplements and helping me out to get ready for this fight; my manager, James Walsh; and American Top Team who help me out and look after me and hopefully I come away with that win.

Jeffrey Harris: Any last words for your opponent, Renan Barao?

Brad Pickett: Good luck, man; nothing personal, but I hope we have a good fight.

Jeffrey Harris: Brad thanks so much for your time. It's been great speaking to you again. I'm really looking forward to this free UFC card, and I can't wait until we finally see Brad Pickett in the UFC.

Brad Pickett: Thanks a lot. Thanks for the time.

UFC 138 will be broadcast on Spike TV on November 5. 411mania.com's own Jon Butterfield, author of 411's Fighter Profile, will be live on hand to cover the fights. Thanks so much to Brad Pickett for taking a break from his training and busy schedule to speak with us.