Following this morning’s monumental announcement that the UFC will be heading to Manchester on October 8th for UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson II, The Sprawl sat down with UK MMA royalty Brad Pickett, to collect his thoughts on his recent injury, hometown advantages and his ideal fantasy match-up.
Could you give some detail on the injury? For us simple folk, we hear vertebrae and think ‘broken back!’, what is the actual extent of the injury, and why are you going to be able to fight in Manchester if not Hamburg?
I’m out at American Top Team at the moment, and during strength and conditioning I felt something not quite right in my back. Often these things work themselves out within a day or two but it didn’t feel good this time so I went to the doctor who did X-rays. He told me I had a fracture in my spine and sent me off for MRI scans. I was understandably concerned and my first thought was “oh shit”. But the MRI showed that it was actually an old fracture!
My UFC debut was postponed because I damaged my L5 S1 (I was supposed to fight Miguel Torres) – and it’s an injury that has come back a couple of times before but generally doesn’t give me any bother. This time I’ve had to take anti inflammatories and take it easy with the training. I’ve focussed on exercise that won’t aggravate my back further as I’m basically waiting for the swelling to go down. I hope to be back training as normal this week.
So basically, it’s set me back a few weeks, training wise. When I told the UFC that I was injured I was gutted, but I’m very happy they’ve not dropped my fight – and of course I’m thrilled to be on UFC 204! I feel awful for the people that may have bought tickets in Hamburg to support me, I am very grateful to all my fans for their support. I don’t take these things lightly, and I hope to make it up to them by putting on a show in Manchester. If I’d pushed through and fought in Hamburg I wouldn’t have been at my best, which would have been bad for me, my opponent, and everybody who wanted to watch me fight.
Americans always refer to ‘hometown advantage’, regardless of where a show is. Manchester isn’t your town, but will you be expecting a home advantage as far as the crowd is concerned? How does fighting in Manchester compare to London? Does the One Punch army travel?
The One Punch army always travels! I’m very fortunate to have incredible fans who have followed my career since the early days – but I pick up new fans all over the world, so wherever I go, the One Punch Army always comes out to support me! Fighting in the UK does mean that I feel like I have a lot of support there on the night – fighting in London back in February was incredible as it had been several years since I’d fought in my actual home town. I’m ready to put on a show, no matter when or where I fight, so I’m not sure it gives me an actual advantage when it comes to how I perform on the night, but psychologically it give boost in the run up to know that there’s going to be a lot of support in the room.
Do you think you’ll ever get to fight Briones? Third time lucky?
I hope so! He’s a great fighter and it’s unfortunate that he’s been injured the last two times we were due to fight. It must be much more frustrating for him though, as it’s been over a year since he’s fought. I know I’m relatively lucky with my injury and being put on a new card so quickly, but being out of action for a prolonged period can take a toll – financially, psychologically and many other ways. I wish him a speedy recovery, and hopefully we’ll meet in the Octagon, sooner rather than later.
Where do you see your position in the division now? How does your attitude towards the belt change over time, and if/when did your goals and motivation change?
My motivation – for just about everything, not just fighting – changed when I had my baby boy, Buddy. Everything I do now has Buddy at the centre of it, he inspires me in ways I never thought possible. The last couple of weeks have been made so much better by having him and my wife, Sarah, out here in Florida with me.
There’s a lot of great athletes in the UFC at the moment who are older than me – Bisping, Hunt, Henderson etc – who are all doing so well and are living proof that you can still be exciting and relevant athletes even once you’re closer to 40 than 30. But it’s different in the smaller weight divisions – there’s not as many of us who are still going in our late thirties. When I get into bed at night, I don’t dream of winning the title – I dream of being the best I can be, winning my fights, setting an example to Buddy and providing for my family. This is my job, and I want to do well at it, but it doesn’t have to be focussed on the belt.
If you could pick a fantasy fight for yourself (any division and at any point in your career), who? Where? When? Why?
It would have to be Bruce Lee. We’re about the same sort of weight! He was the first person to really be innovative with mixing martial arts, and it would be an honour to fight a legend like him!
Brad Pickett will face Iuri Alcantara at UFC 204 on October 8, 2016. More info HERE.
