Brad Pickett may have fought his last fight last night at UFC Fight Night London, but insists that he will remain in the sport.
Pickett may have bid farewell to life as a fighter following a painful third round defeat to last minute replacement Marlon Vera at the O2 in London last night. While the chips did not fall according to the popular Englishman’s wishes, “One Punch” is not exactly done with the sport. In reflection, a 13-year career in professional fighting has given the Londoner a perspective which only age and experience can. Pickett is certainly looking forward to passing down such knowledge and wisdom:
“This sport is my life, I would love to stay involved in the sport,” Pickett said. “One of my passions would be to open my gym in South London and pass my knowledge onto the young, aspiring athletes, and also, I love this company so I don’t know maybe if I speak to the right people there’s somewhere for me”.
The combination of Pickett’s humble but upbeat attitude and dogged fighting style has made him a true fan-favorite in the UFC over the years. The promotion’s president, Dana White, has accredited Pickett with the title of his favorite fighter in the past. While a huge fan of English soccer outfit Tottenham Hotspur, fighting has been all the Londoner has known in his adult life. Despite this, Pickett believes the time is right to move on to pastures new. The (now former) bantamweight has big plans going forward:
“I love this sport, this sport is my life and I definitely don’t want to leave this sport. I also run my own fight promotion, Rise of Champions, so I’m going to concentrate more on that now, which I had to put on hold because I had back-to-back fights, and now I have a lot more time on my hands.”
