Two weeks ago, Brad Pickett found himself stood in the center of the UFC Octagon in front of a packed-out Manchester, England crowd, totally disbelieving the previous two minutes of his life.  

The agony of defeat

For the first time in his career, Pickett had been blitzed. From the opening bell of his fight with Iuri Alcântara, Pickett was a passenger. He merely watched on in horror as his dream of winning in front of his UK home crowd again evaporated with every second that passed.

"He just took it out my hands you know," Pickett said. "I f*****g hated my whole training camp--it was awful man. I've never fought a southpaw in my life, and I've always hated training with southpaws in the gym. When my fight got put back I was training even longer, I missed my family, and I just really wanted it over and done with.

"Mentally that wasn't great going into the fight, but literally from the first strike I was severely winded by the first front teep kick that he threw. I didn't show it, but I was so hurt by that. From there, it was a just whirlwind. I was constantly on the back foot. I was just starting to recover then it was a spinning back elbow and I was down. Then I'm defending all these shots, then an armbar. I get out the armbar, boom, straight into a triangle. I tried to get out, but nope. It was too tight and I had to tap."

Pickett then described the immediate feelings that came into his mind just seconds after submitting.

"I just stood up thinking--what the f**k just happened you know?" Pickett said. "What the hell is this all about? I'm not a religious guy, but I looked up to the lights and ask what I did to deserve this. It really, really sucks you know and it hurts like hell.

"I've been in a fight a little like that before with Renan Barao, but at least I was actually in the fight and throwing bombs and hitting him and that. This time it was just like I was a passenger along for the ride. This one wasn't even a fight. It just f*****g sucks--end of."

Getting the call for his big fight

While the agony of pain was greater than it's probably ever been, Pickett wasn't made to dwell on the loss long. Soon after, the Brit got the call from the UFC to fight Urijah Faber at UFC on Fox 22 in Sacramento, California, on Dec. 17. Suffice to say, Pickett was never going to turn the opportunity down.

"When I got the call, I was like 'f**k yeah 100 percent I'm doing that'," Pickett said. "I just wanted to get that last fight behind me you know. I think Urijah is the perfect opponent for me. I always look at us as two stars from back in the day of the WEC/UFC and I always thought it would be a great fight.

"It was impossible to turn it down. I'm going over to America to fight him in his hometown and I'm going to be a massive underdog--especially after that last performance. Everyone will count me out, but f*** them. I've got nothing to lose and I'm just going to go in there and f***ing enjoy myself."

Pickett then described the lift he felt having been given such a big fight.

"I've never been more excited about a fight than this one. My last few times they've give me the call and told me I'm fighting (Henry) Briones, (Francisco) Rivera, Alcântara, I've just been like 'Meh, OK cool'. This time around, I finally have my opportunity to take scalp. I've always fought up-and-comers or someone who isn't the biggest name. I've never fought someone who has been there and done that and been given this sort of opportunity.

"Looking at my last fight I definitely don't deserve it, but when you take into consideration my entire career no one can deny me. I think I deserve a big fight and for me this is my big one. I just can't wait to get in there. I've never been more motivated in my life, it's lit a fire under me."

Nothing but respect for a fellow legend

Having been through the days of early days of the WEC and the formation of the UFC lower weight classes, Pickett and Faber have come across each other on several occasions. Like pretty much all his other opponents, the British fighter has nothing but good words for Faber and the legacy he's built in the sport.

"We've met each other a lot over the years, and we've chatted a lot," Pickett said. "I've got his phone number. We aren't like best pals or anything, but we know each other. We get on and there's a lot of respect there. It's business though, I'm going to love fighting him. I've no personal vendettas against anyone. The closest I ever came to having beef was with Ian McCall and even that just dissipated into harmless tongue-in-cheek banter.   

"I'm not a trash talker and not a douchey kind of guy. It doesn't make a difference to whether you are nice as pie or s**t talking me--I'm going to punch you in the face as hard as I can. That's their call."

Don't even bother about asking about the 'R' word

Seemingly with every fight he has, Pickett answers the same question from fans and media--is this your last fight in the UFC? Before all those questions start up again, the Brit had a very clear message about his own retirement plans.

"I'm going to tell those guys to mind their own f***ing business," Pickett said. "At the end of the day, it's not easy to just say I'm calling it a day. When you love your job you just want to do it--you love what you do.

"Am I as good as I was back in my early days--no probably not, but nor is Urijah. Are we still good--yep, can we still fight--yep. Just because we aren't pushing for a title shot it doesn't mean we can't go out there and put on a show. Look at Nate Diaz versus Conor McGregor, the highest selling show of all time and they didn't have a title on the line. A good fight is a good fight."

Picket them made a promise that his fight in December won't be his last.

"I can't speak for Urijah, but I can tell you that I won't be retiring in Sacramento," Pickett said. "If I do it, it will be on my terms and doing my own thing. I'm doing this to spite [Faber] in a way. I'm brought in for him to fight--he's not brought in for me. He's fighting in his hometown and it's all about him. I'm there to spoil the party.

"If he's partying because he's won there's no way I'm retiring--sod that. If I bet him I ain't retiring either so there's one-hundred percent, no chance I'm retiring after this fight."