Brad Pickett Moving Back to the Bantamweight Division
After dropping down to the flyweight division in hopes of making a title run, Brad “One Punch” Pickett is returning to the 135-pound weight class. The Englishman went 1-2 as a 125-pounder, losing back-to-back fights. Following a split decision loss to Chico Camus on Nov. 22, Pickett decided to make the move back up.
“I'm going to go back up a weight class [to bantamweight],” Pickett told The Telegraph.
Dropping a weight class has its advantages and disadvantages. It’s advantageous to be the bigger, stronger fighter. But there’s a point of diminishing returns, especially when facing lighter fighters with the gift of speed.
“The weight cut was tough for me to make, but also the match-ups in that weight class are just not that interesting to me. It's not fun chasing a guy for 15 minutes in the hope he'll fight you,” said Pickett.
“I'm too old for that now. I want to be involved in good fights,” added the 36-year-old.
Pickett wants to finish his career with match-ups that are going to be exciting. He thinks the perfect opponent that will yield a fight that the fans will be talking about on Monday morning is Takeya Mizugaki.
“A fight I'd like to have at bantamweight is someone like Mizugaki. He's an old veteran, I'm an old veteran, and we'd both slug it out and put on a great fight for the fans. That's what it's all about for me now,” he said.
Mizugaki lost to former titleholder Dominick Cruz in his last outing. He’s currently ranked No. 6 in the UFC bantamweight division. While the fight might not make sense considering the rankings, it would likely be entertaining.
