The Best and Worst from UFC Fight Night 107

#3 Worst: Pickett goes out on his shield

It’s almost hard to class this as “bad” given the fact that Brad Pickett’s fight with Marlon Vera was a very good one, and it ended in highlight reel fashion, but it was still disappointing in its own way.

Namely, because it ended with referee Grant Waterman needing to step in and rescue a downed Pickett following a knockdown from a head kick. Pickett tried to claim the stoppage was premature but I respectfully disagree; he was badly hurt by the kick and Vera landed two clean hammer fists on the ground too.

What made it more disappointing for the British veteran was that on my scorecard at least, he’d won the first two rounds with his boxing and wrestling and was on his way to winning the third.

Just three months ago Pickett was in Vera’s position, facing Urijah Faber in what was the California Kid’s last fight. Pickett came out on the wrong end of the result that night, too, but at least Faber got to walk into the sun with a win in his hometown.

I’ve watched Pickett since his Cage Rage run in 2003 and he’s definitely one of the best British fighters to ever compete in the sport, so it would’ve been nice to see him walk away with a victory last night. It wasn’t to be, though, and instead, he went out on his shield.

This, in a way, is why this doesn’t belong in the “bad” category – while it was heartbreaking for the fans, part of me wonders whether Pickett really would’ve minded, once the whole thing had sunk in.

After all, like the old cliché says, live by the sword, die by the sword. And Pickett always lived by the sword.