WEC 48: Brad “One Punch” Pickett Seeks to Snatch the WEC Spotlight

When you ask any MMA fan what qualities they look for when they choose their favorite fighters many will give you same answers.  Exciting, a unique style and persona, well rounded, aggressive, and someone looking to finish fights.   The previously mentioned items would be a dream list of assets that any fighter would be lucky to possess.

Brad “One Punch” Pickett is truly a fighter that has all of these traits as part of his ever evolving MMA game.  Pickett fights out of the United Kingdom in the Bantamweight division and has recently moved to the big stage of the WEC organization. 

Brad started out in his teens with a strict boxing background which eventually transitioned him into MMA due to his curiosity and love of a good fight.  “One Punch” started out in the popular Cage Rage promotion in his native country and quickly rose to success. 

Pickett attained the Cage Rage Featherweight Title at Cage Rage 13.  When Brad was asked about the championship experience he replied “Relatively belts don’t mean a lot to me, it was the icing on the cake, and really winning means everything to me.  The belt is nice to have but winning is the real belt.”

One can argue that UK MMA is not as far along as MMA in the United States.  Pickett has recognized this and decided that with the increase in competition that he is now facing in the WEC that training abroad will be to his benefit.   Brad selected one of the elite camps in MMA American Top Team to help with the evolution of his fight potential. 

Since venturing to American Top Team Brad has noticed changes “I’ve improved so much since coming here in every area, my ground game and especially my wrestling being in England I didn’t do a lot of wrestling.”  Brad has been working with many stand-out MMA stars and noted one of his favorite training partners “Mike Brown being a close friend of mine has helped me out considerably with my wrestling.” 

When asked how he feels about critics of the UK fighters wrestling and ground game he responded with “If anyone in the UK has got any sense they know that, so I know that my weaknesses are on the ground and with wrestling so I concentrate on it.”

With WEC 48 being the organizations first move on to Pay-Per-View Brad feels that it is truly “A move in the right direction.” 

Having a crowd pleasing style and personality are often what sets apart newer fighters from the run of the mill.  Brad feels that finishing fights is essential to moving ahead “I’m employed by the WEC and I please them by putting on good fights.  There’s no point being in a boring fight, you don’t have to take stupid risks but sometimes when you take risks you get great rewards.”  One of his idols in MMA is Melvin Manhoef who goes out to finish fights with an explosive style.

Pickett believes that “Winning is a habit and if you lose one or two you start to question yourself.”

Another element in MMA that Brad finds to be important is the presentation of character and showmanship leading up to the fight.  His nickname “One Punch” was conceived in comparing him to the Brad Pitt character One Punch Mickey from the popular movie Snatch.  Pickett added to this persona by entering his fights dressed in cut off jean shorts with suspenders and fedora hat. 

“It’s a business you need an image, the people don’t always recognize a fighter.”  He likens his ring entrance to be similar to Jason “Mayhem” Miller putting focus on the showmanship before the fight begins. 

Beyond his pre-fight display he is a fighter not to be taken lightly.  Pickett is technical, aggressive and goes out to finish fights.  When asked about his particular style he remarked “I don’t mind standing in the pocket and throwing back and forth but if it goes to decision it happens but I will be trying to finish the fight from the start.” 

Pickett’s opponent for WEC 48 is Demetrious Johnson who is undefeated at 5-0.  Records are all well and good but Pickett feels it is his opportunity to “find out if he’s the real deal or not.”  Brad is confident that he has prepared for his opponent and looks forward to the challenge.

Brad “One Punch” Pickett has all the makings for a future star in the WEC’s Bantamweight division.  Great punches, aggressiveness, flashy ring entrance, and a desire to finish the fight from the moment the cage door closes.  Brad looks forward to showing fans what he can do on April 24th at WEC 48 and is confident that “One Punch Mickey” will snatch a win for his fans.