LAS VEGAS – For Jamie Pickett, snapping his losing skid was more of a mental hurdle than physical.
After punching his ticket to the UFC with a standout performance in his second shot on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” Pickett dropped his first two octagon bouts to Tafon Nchukwi and Jordan Wright.
But with the help of a sports psychologist, Pickett (13-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) was able to turn things around.
“Just the cameras and stuff got to me – the cameras and not wanting to be under the lights and stuff like that,” Pickett told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 201 media day. “So that’s over with.
“It was definitely nerves of the camera – family watching and stuff, friends, all your friends: ‘You’re going to kill him. You’re going to do this,’ and you’re like ‘Man, what if I don’t?’ So it’s out of my mind.”
Pickett will look to make it three straight when he steps in on short notice to face Kyle Daukaus (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event.
UFC Fight Night 201 takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+.
How getting over ‘nerves of the camera’ helped Jamie Pickett notch first UFC wins
