Brad Pickett Talks to Kingdom MMA About His Upcoming Fight with Ian McCall

Kingdom MMA caught up with Brad "One Punch" Pickett to discuss dropping to 125lbs and his next fight

by Ben Heather @benheather and Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

On Friday we caught up with the one and only Brad "One Punch" Pickett (23-8 MMA 3-3 UFC) to discuss the news which was recently announced on UFC Beyond The Octagon where he announced he was going to be dropping to flyweight and will fight Ian "Uncle Creepy" McCall (12-4-1 MMA 1-2-1 UFC) in his flyweight debut at the O2 Arena in his home town of London on 8th March 2014.

That fight certainly has already got a lot of buzz surrounding it and people are excited to see just how Brad gets on at flyweight. So we asked him:

Ben: Firstly, thank you for taking the time to speak to us today. What made you decide that it was the right time now to drop down in weight?
Pickett: I made the decision originally to drop down in weight when i was on my honeymoon. I had a lot of time to myself as it was really quiet in the Maldives and you start thinking about a lot of things.

For me being a fighter, I needed challenges. At the moment I am ranked number 5 in the bantamweight division. There are four people above me, I have fought three of them and lost to all of them so there wasn't really anywhere for me to go. The only people I had left to fight were people who were ranked lower than myself and for me that was something to not really be motivated for and I wanted motivating and I wanted to have a challenge.

With me not being the biggest bantamweight I thought it would be possible to go down a weight class, to reinvent myself and to have a new challenge so that's what I did. Also, the other factor in it is I have a win over the champion so that was another little factor but it wasn't the main factor. The main factor was to get a new challenge.

Ben: Had you thought about it at all before the McDonald fight?
Pickett: No, It was when I was on my honeymoon. I had the McDonald fight and if I had beat him I would have been in line for a title shot. You don't look to change things when you are winning its when you lose that you look to change things so I didn't even think about it until after I got married and was on my honeymoon.

Ben: Was it completely your idea to drop down in weight or had it been suggested to you beforehand which led you to consider it?
Pickett: It has always been loosely suggested because obviously I have beaten Demetrious Johnson so everyone would suggest it but I have never really looked at it as a possibility, as I wasn't doing too bad as a bantamweight. I was up there in the mix and with a win or two I was in line for a title shot so that's why I didn't want to lose another 10lbs and go down a weight class. As soon as there was no more challenges left for me at that weight class I wanted to make a new challenge for myself.

Ben: Have you done a trial cut or do you have plans to do a practise cut before your fight?
Pickett: I don't do test weight cuts, I don't believe in them personally. Its a really mentally tough thing to do weight cutting if you're cutting a lot of weight and I think unless you have something at the end of it, like a fight you're not really gonna mentally do it.

I will make the weight but I will do it when it comes to fight I've got everything in order. Obviously I walk around a lot lighter now, I walk around 10lbs lighter now because I've got to cut that extra 10lbs and now I am stabilised at this weight as well I don't have to diet to stay here.

Ben: Will Christmas have any impact on the weight and drop to flyweight? After all its a time when people tend to eat more unhealthy foods.
Pickett: Not too bad, my weight is quite good at the moment. I will eat over Christmas and I still got a lot of time next year to do it and I am going away in January to America and that's when I will concentrate a lot more on the weight cut.

Ben: Will you be going back to American Top Team for this camp?
Pickett: Yes I will be going back to Florida, that's always where I do my training camps so I am looking forward to going back there. I will be there for 8 weeks and come back a week before the fight

Ben: What do you think you gain by going to America and ATT that you cant get in the UK?
Pickett: one, there is a lot more full time training partners so I have a lot more full time people who are my size to train with.

The other factors and the reason I go to America is because I go away to train so I can get away from my day to day distractions. The lifestyle you are used to eating, diet, your friends and your social life. Its hard to concentrate on a training camp when you are still around everything. That's why I go to America because its so easy to switch on and focus on my diet, my training, everything and its all about me just training for this fight.

Ben: When you knew that you was going to be dropping down to flyweight did you ask to fight McCall or was this fight given to you?
Pickett: I like to look at fights that make sense and to me the McCall fight made sense. He was available as he was supposed to fight Scott Jorgensen and he got injured so timing wise he will be back in the right time and I wanted to fight a tough opponent within the weight class so Ian made sense.

Ben: What do you think McCall's main strengths are and how do you match up to them?
Pickett: His main strengths.... well he is very well rounded and I am very well rounded but I do believe I am a little bit better than him in every area.

Ben: How does it feel knowing you will be fighting in your home town for the UFC?
Pickett: Yeah I am excited, I have fought in London before and I have fought for the UFC before but I have never fought in London for the UFC and for me to do that at the O2 which in my eyes is the best arena in Europe let alone England. I can't wait I am so excited

Ben: What are your opinions of the other contenders to the flyweight belt. Guys such as Lineker, Benevidez and Dodson to name just a couple.
Pickett: They are all exciting fights and fighters to watch but to me at the minute I am just focusing on McCall. Hopefully I will be able to beat McCall and then I can look at other people after the fight. They are all exciting and well rounded and the division is getting more stacked all the time so its an exciting division to be involved in.

Ben: Do you believe a win over McCall and the fact you have beaten Demetrious Johnson before will be enough to get you a title fight off the back of this fight?
Pickett: I believe so. I think he has cleaned out most of the weightclass at the moment and there is no real contenders for him that he hasn't thought so I believe a win over McCall could potentially put me in line for a title shot.

Ben: Would you like to thank anyone?
Pickett: Yeah I would like to thank all my supporters and all my fans.
My two teams American Top Team and Team Titan and all of my sponsors who have supported me.

Thank you so much for your time to do the interview with us and we wish you a safe trip to America for the camp and can't wait to see you fight in your home town on March 8th. Also we would like to take this opportunity to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and all of your family.