UFC Fight Night 57 results recap: Brad Pickett vs Chico Camus fight review and analysis

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweights Brad Pickett and Chico Camus collided last night (Sat., Nov. 22, 2014) at UFC Fight Night 57 inside Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

After a solid run as a Top 10-ranked Bantamweight, Pickett attempted to reinvigorate his career by dropping down to the Flyweight division. Prior to last night, Pickett had received mixed results and was looking to emphatically show that he belonged at 125 pounds.

On the other hand, Camus had been finding some success inside the 135-pound division, but was routinely the smaller man. In his debut performance at a new weight class, Camus was hoping to announce himself as a new contender.

In the first minute of the bout, Camus bounced around quite a bit, landed a hard flying knee, and then defended a very deep takedown. After his opponent's quick start, Pickett again shot for a deep double-leg and he finished it with a slam.

For about one minute, Pickett landed hard elbows and opened up cuts on his opponent's forehead. Then, Camus rolled up to his feet and returned to lighting up his opponent with quick strikes. Near the end of the round, Camus hit a sweet low single, but was not able to control his opponent for very long.

The first round was quite close, though I leaned toward "King."

In the second round, Camus continued to move very well and stay light on his feet. In the majority of the exchanges, Camus was able to bounce into range, land some hard strikes, and then quickly angle out, which often left Pickett swinging at air.

In addition, Camus continued to neutralize Pickett's takedown attempts. Though "One Punch" was often able to get in on his opponent's hips, Camus showed excellent defense by inching his hips out and fighting for under hooks.

However, Camus let his foot off the gas near the end of the second round. He looked content to merely avoid his opponent's punches, rather than make him pay frequently. Because of this hesitancy, Camus allowed the round to slip out of hand a bit.

The third round was quite close as well. Camus continued to wait a bit too much, but Pickett did not land many of his strikes. Camus' excellent takedown defense did hold up though, as he stuffed each and every one of his opponent's shots.

In the end, the two of the judges agreed that Camus had done enough to secure the victory.

Camus did several things very well in this fight. Overall, his footwork was excellent, and it allowed him to land many of his punches before avoiding his opponent's "One Punch." In addition, he kept up a varied attack, allowing him to catch his opponent off guard frequently.

Technically, Camus fought a brilliant fight. However, he really needed to up the aggression. There was no reason for the fight to be that close, as Camus won a vast majority of the exchanges he committed to and was easily stuffing takedowns by the end of the fight.

For his next bout, Camus should get another ranked fighter. Unfortunately, most of those names are booked, so Camus may end up in the cage with an unproven up-and-comer such as Louis Smolka.

In my opinion, Pickett needs to go back to bantamweight. He simply isn't fast enough to compete with the best fighters at 125 pounds, which is compounded by the fact that he's quite predictable.

To be fair, Pickett did make a smart adjustment after the first round. By focusing a bit more on his counter punching, Pickett made Camus a bit more hesitant. It wasn't enough for him to win the bout, but it made far more competitive.

At UFC Fight Night 57, Chico Camus made his successful flyweight debut at the expense of Brad Pickett. How far can "King" climb in his new division?

For complete UFC Fight Night 57 "Edgar vs Swanson" results and play-by-play click HERE.