Newest UFC signee Aaron Pico aims to prove all the hype was real
Aaron Pico is looking to shake up the UFC’s featherweight division after signing with the organization after seven years fighting in Bellator MMA.
In 2014, now-defunct promotion Bellator MMA signed an 18-year-old Aaron Pico, often touted as the “LeBron James of MMA” – a can’t-miss prospect destined to become a future champion.
At the time, Pico was a FILA (now United World Wrestling or UWW) World Championship winner and a Junior Golden Gloves national champion in boxing in addition to being a U.S. Olympic wrestling hopeful.
Less than three years later, a 20-year-old Pico would make his professional mixed martial arts debut against an established Zach Freeman, who had an 8-2 record with some high level regional experience.
The matchmaking would turn out to be a massive lapse in judgment for Bellator MMA, who tried to get their highly touted prospect on the fast track, but Freeman dropped Pico with an uppercut and followed it up with a guillotine choke, handing Pico a loss in his pro debut in just 24 seconds.
Over the next two years, Pico stayed busy, winning four straight before losing two in a row once the level of competition was elevated.
“I’ve taken some lumps, of course that’s no secret, but I think I’m well on my way to becoming a champion,” Pico told Sportsnet in Miami during UFC 314 fight week. “I don’t want to be a participant in this. I want to be a champion.”
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Pico was never shy to engage in firefights with his opponents in the Bellator cage, often throwing caution to the wind to his detriment.
Eventually, Pico moved his training camp to JacksonWink MMA, which has produced several champions, including most notably all-time great Jon Jones.
This was the missing ingredient for Pico, who became a more patient and strategic fighter and he has gone 10-1 since with the lone loss coming due to a shoulder injury that had been aggravated during his bout against Canadian Jeremy Kennedy.
After acquiring Bellator in 2023, Pico fought out his contract by avenging a loss to Henry Corrales and following a year of inactivity in 2024, Pico has signed with the UFC.
“I don’t need to change much,” Pico explained. “The only thing that has changed is the organization that is says on my shorts, and if I do that I know everything will go according to plan.”
Now 28 years old, Pico (13-4) is approaching his prime and has the opportunity to prove that, despite the growing pains, he is who everyone thought that he was and the best way to prove that is to become a champion at the highest level of the sport.
Pico was in Miami ahead of UFC 314 to get a closer look at some of the division’s top fighters, including Alexander Volkanovski, Diego Lopes, Yair Rodriguez and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who at the start of the year most would have guessed would be his next opponent in a PFL featherweight championship bout.
“I definitely know that the (matchmakers) are interested in him,” UFC CEO Dana White said following UFC 311 in January when asked about the promotion’s interest in signing Pico.
Now that the UFC matchmakers do have Pico on the roster, the big question becomes how they match him up.
Initially, rumours were swirling that he would be facing undefeated Movsar Evloev, however, Pico confirmed to MMAJunkie’s Mike Bohn that, while it was discussed and both sides were interested, the bout fell through the cracks.
The fact it was in negotiations at all shows the matchmakers are looking to throw Pico right into the proverbial fire by matching him with a highly ranked opponent in a stacked division.
Whoever he faces in his debut, Pico has the unique opportunity to prove that the hype surrounding him for more than a decade was substantiated and that all the refinements over the years will fulfill his destiny of becoming a champion at the highest level.
