KnuckleMania V was bittersweet for Pat Brady.
Fighting at the sold-out Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia was a dream come true for the heavy-handed Washington Township, NJ big man.
In front of a record crowd of more than 17,000 fans, Brady smashed his way to 2-0 in the Squared Circle with a 53-second, standing TKO victory over Zach Calmus in their highly anticipated heavyweight showdown on DAZN.
A win is a win, but Brady was craving a much longer, more intense battle.
“I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but it was a little disappointing,” Brady says in retrospect. “I beat him so easily that it didn’t look like a 1-0 guy against a guy who had finished their last four fights. It looked like some jacked-up dude beat up a bum, and I hate that.
“If you’re not familiar with Zach’s record, it looks like they gave me a can for my hometown fight, but I really wanted to be pushed to my limit and I thought that Zach would be the opponent to do that.”
But that’s really just a testament to how prepared Brady was for battle — and how bright his future is in the Squared Circle.
Brady isn’t sure what’s next for him with the world’s fastest growing combat sports promotion, but he’s only hunting big game in BKFC’s stacked heavyweight division.
“I proved I’m one of the premiere heavyweights on the roster. I proved that I’m elite. Everybody thought my fight was going to be a war, myself included, but I shined through and showed that I’m levels above guys with impressive records,” Brady says.
“There are only a couple guys on the roster who will stand a chance when they’re standing across the ring from me.”
