Brad 'One Punch' Pickett honoured to be a part of Urijah Faber's UFC farewell but veteran Londoner still plans to 'knock his head off'
Fan-favourite Urijah Faber will hang up his gloves in his hometown on Saturday and the man across the cage from him fully intends to spoil his farewell party.
England's Brad Pickett, a fellow veteran of the game, enters enemy territory at UFC on FOX 22 planning to send the 'California Kid' into retirement on a low note.
'It’s a great honour to be honest,' Pickett said on his involvement in the Sacramento showdown. 'He (Faber) is a massive pioneer from the smaller weight classes.'
Brad Pickett is intent on spoiling the party for Urijah Faber's homecoming in Sacramento
'One punch' is looking to bounce back from a devastating loss in his last fight
'I’m surprised our paths haven’t crossed before but it’s better late than never so I’m happy we’re getting it done now.
'You know he can be as nice as pie to me outside the octagon but when we’re fighting I'm going to try and knock his head off. It’s just part of the sport, as soon as the bell’s finished, we’ll shake hands and be fine.'
'I’m going to try and finish him within the first round but if that doesn't happen I’ll just try and do that for three five minute rounds. This is the biggest scalp I’ve had the chance to take in my career.'
Both men come into the bout off the back of disappointing defeats, but for Pickett it's a case of coming back from one of his most difficult nights inside the octagon.
The 38-year-old got the chance to perform in front of his own people at UFC 204 in Manchester in September. However, it was an unhappy homecoming as he was quickly submitted by Iuri Alcantara in under two minutes, much to the disappointment of the sell out crowd.
'You know it doesn’t get worse than that,' Pickett explains, reflecting on the loss.
Faber (centre) was joined by Pickett (left) and Mike Brown in cutting weight for the fight
'It really affected me. I’ve had fights go wrong before but never one like that where I didn’t get a chance to do anything. That’s why I’m happy to be getting straight back in there.
'I had a terrible training camp (for that fight)... only because I’ve never fought a southpaw before and I didn’t like southpaws when I was training with them.
'I’ve always fought orthodox guys so I’d never really had to solve that puzzle. It was really a pathetic camp.
'This time I’m back to normal, preparing for an orthodox guy. I’ve had a really enjoyable camp.
'It’s been my quickest turn around in my UFC career and it's gone brilliantly. I've stayed in shape since my fight in Manchester. I pretty much went straight back into camp and I’m in great shape.'
No comments: