From fashionista to fighter, Brad (One Punch) Pickett has always had a sense of style.
The 33-year-old English bantamweight is hard to miss as he walks to the cage. He wears a trilby hat, cut-off pants and suspenders over an undershirt. Casual as can be, he peruses a newspaper before getting down to business.
Pickett takes on Brazilian 135-pounder Renan Barao in the co-main event of UFC 138 on Saturday in Birmingham, England. Veteran middleweight Chris (The Crippler) Leben meets Mark (The Filipino Wrecking Machine) Munoz in the marquee matchup at the LG Arena.
Pickett’s fight entrances are inspired by photos of his grandfather, a former bare-knuckle boxer who died when he was four. His nickname and hat have also drawn comparisons to Brad Pitt’s role as a bare-knuckle fighter in the film “Snatch” but Pickett says that’s just a coincidental string to his bow.
He used to make his living in the fashion world, working first for Diesel and then Maharishi. He moved from a retail role to wholesale before fighting got in the way.
Pickett comes by his fashion sense honestly.
His parents used to make high-end footwear for Elton John and his mother helped teach designers Patrick Cox and Jimmy Choo how to make shoes.
“My parents knew loads of famous people in the fashion industry,” Pickett said.
It took him a while to find MMA. A semi-pro soccer player, he took up boxing for fitness reasons – and with an eye to getting into stunt work. After being offered a boxing match, he went on to post a 10-1 amateur record with seven knockouts (hence the nickname).
A bad knee forced him out of soccer and kept him away from boxing for a time. When he was fit enough to return to the ring, boxing just didn’t hold the same appeal.
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Del Edwards, a local friend who fought in Cage Rage, suggested MMA.
“At first I was a bit apprehensive, you know rolling around with guys on the floor, but then I went there (to the gym).” Pickett recalled. “My first lesson I got beaten up by a 16-year-old kid called Mark Smith. And I was like ‘Oh my God, if a 16-year-old kid can handle me the way he just did, I need to learn this, I need to get better at this.’ It was so exciting for me, just learning new stuff … it was brilliant to me.
“I remember going home from that first session, just buzzing, just thinking in my head about all these moves I’d just learned. It was a breath of fresh air, I’ve never looked back to be honest.”
Pickett was 26 and he was hooked.
He won his pro debut in November 2004 and kept busy, eventually winning featherweight (145-pound) titles in Cage Rage and Ultimate Challenge, another British promotion.
In 2006, Cage Rage sent him to Florida to train with the highly regarded American Top Team camp. He continues to go back there to hone his craft away from the distractions of home and counts former WEC champion Mike Brown as a friend, training partner and cornerman.
Pickett does some cornering of his own, offering sage advice to the likes of training partner and fellow UFC fighter Jason (Shotgun) Young – although not Saturday when they are both in action on the same card.
While he started as a boxer, Pickett has expanded his arsenal. He can take you down and, if you give him an opening, he will punish you.
He showed his chops in his WEC debut in December 2009 when he stopped Kyle Dietz with the rarely seen Peruvian Necktie submission.
“The ref had to ask what it was,” he recalled.
The five-foot-six Pickett, who won a submission of the night bonus, celebrated the victory with a back flip off the fence.
Earlier on his career, he stopped Ozzy Haluk by foot stomp – which was legal in Cage Rage.
“It looks really bad, head stomping and such but to be honest the technique is so hard to pull off,” he said. “It’s not easy.”
Stomps to the face are not legal in the UFC but his opponent Saturday has plenty of other tricks.
Barao – his full name is Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado (Barao is a nickname) – showed off flying knees and spinning back kicks in his UFC debut last time out – a unanimous decision over Cole Escovedo at UFC 130.
“He’s a bit flashy sometimes but I find he becomes a lot more flashy when he’s winning,” said Pickett. “Let’s see if he does that sort of stuff when he’s up against it and it’s taken him to deep waters. I don’t think he’ll be doing flashy stuff then.”
Barao (26-1 with one no contest) is used to having things his own way. The Brazilian has not lost since his pro debut in April 2005.
Pickett’s last four WEC fights were all in the U.S., including a win over Canadian Ivan Menjivar last time out in December 2010, so this marks his first outing on British soil since August 2009.
He was slated to make his UFC debut against Miguel Torres in May but was forced to drop out due to a herniated disk.
Now a full-time fighter, Pickett left the fashion industry as MMA became a bigger part of his life.
Working at a desk wasn’t helping him physically and he needed time off to train and fight. So he became a self-employed roofer and plumber, able to pick his own schedule.
So does the fighter with the fashion background have a big wardrobe these days?
“I do but now me and my girlfriend live together it’s not as big as I’d like it to be,” he said dryly.
“It’s kind of been swallowed up – especially every time I go away to America for like eight weeks, my section of the wardrobe gets smaller every time. I think I need to stop going away as much.”
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