Brad Pickett’s final MMA bout at UFC London Saturday didn’t go quite as he’d hoped. After being up (arguably) two rounds against short-notice replacement Marlon Vera, Pickett was caught in the third round by a vicious head kick. That kick knocked “One Punch” to the canvass, and a couple of follow up punches ended the fight.
The loss dropped Pickett to 25–14, but the bantamweight star took it all in stride. Speaking at the UFC Fight Night 107 post-fight press conference in London following the event, he commented on the night, and was blunt in dissecting the end of the fight, stating that “it just shows basically I made the right decision.” In regards to the Vera kick, landed after his opponent had attempted several such attacks, Pickett stated that it was
A headkick where to be honest, the younger me would have chewed that up and just kept on going. It’s definitely the right decision, obviously it’s not the fairytale ending that myself and probably everybody else had wanted.
Pickett, whose retirement fight perhaps overshadowed the main and co-main events of the night, also commented on the support he got from the fans.
This whole week has just been crazy emotions. Whatever I had throughout my career, tenfold. The support I’ve got from the press, the fans, the staff, Has just been mindblowing. I’m forever grateful for this sport, and the ufc to give me a platform.
In the end, “One Punch” leaves the sport as one of the pioneers of the smaller weight classes. He also holds notable wins over Ivan Menjivar, Yves Jabouin, and current UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, the latter of which came under the WEC banner.
Speaking about his career as a whole, and walking away, Pickett was clear he had no regrets.
Zero regrets. I always look forward, I don’t dwell on the past.
