Atlanta, GA — Heavyweight Patrick Brady brings an undefeated record to the PFL SmartCage this Friday in Atlanta, Georgia — where he finally gets to make his promotional debut.
Brady (5-0) was supposed to compete at PFL 2 in Las Vegas, only for opponent Michał Andryszak to pull out. A week later, rescheduled against Denis Goltsov, Brady himself had to withdraw from the fight.
“I’m excited, man. I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to get in the cage, I’m ready to make the walk,” Brady told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. “I was in Vegas, I was ready to fight, we were going through all that fight week— those nuances of getting ready to fight, and then the rug gets pulled out from underneath you. But, this is the fight game and that kinda stuff happens. It’s all good, we’re here now.”
Brady got a late start in combat sports, and didn’t turn pro until he was 37. He’s the type of person who likes to prove himself — and didn’t want to hit his 50s with regrets.
“I like to prove myself to people, not only to people but to myself. I want to prove things to myself, and I don’t want to leave any doubt in my head when I’m 50, and everyone’s telling war stories around the campfire. I want to know that I went for it, that I pushed it to the limit.”
The late start in combat sports came about at least in part due to some struggles outside the cage. “My life has been one war story after the other. There were a lot of trials and tribulations that I had to overcome as a child and as an young adult,” explained Brady. “I made my pro debut at a later age. There were a lot of specific details around that, and that journey and how I got to where I am now.”
Among those struggles for Brady was alcoholism — he got sober in 2016, and two years later made his amateur debut. That has allowed him to focus on being a good person, and contributing to society in a positive manner. “It’s been quite the journey. The word grateful is probably the most descriptive word to explain how I am.”
When Brady got his start in combat sports, it came through a charity boxing match supporting recovery houses. At that event, an MMA fighter expressed that mixed martial artists were tougher than boxers. That drew Brady in. “I had no idea what jiu-jitsu was. I had no clue. Just no experience in MMA. The only thing I knew was Chuck Liddell. I knew a name. From that, six weeks later, I was walking into a cage. Literally, six weeks later from that match, I was walking into a cage. That was my first and only loss, a split decision. And it’s been the new addiction since then, and it’s been a positive one.”
In 2021, Brady turned pro, and has not looked back, winning his first five fights, with three finishes in that stretch.
Watch our full interview with PFL 5 heavyweight Patrick Brady above. Brady faces fellow undefeated heavyweight Jordan Heiderman at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, GA.
