Aaron
Pico celebrated his 27th birthday in style on Saturday.
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The Jackson-Wink MMA product made short work of Pedro
Carvalho in the Bellator 299 co-main event, winning via
technical knockout 3:05 into the opening stanza of their
featherweight bout at 3Arena in Dublin. Pico took his foe down
multiple times before sealing his victory with punches and elbows
from top position.
“I felt really good throughout the whole fight. Of course, you’re
going to get hit, it’s a fight. But I was able to stay composed,
pick my shots, slow the fight down with my wrestling,” Pico said at
the Bellator 299 post-fight press conference.
“And my ground-and-pound was vicious. I think he was really rocked
on the bottom because I was throwing those elbows, and I felt no
movement in his neck. In this sport you don’t stop until the ref
pushes you off. Those elbows that I landed, I think he was out of
it. What you’ll do to another human being inside this cage is
crazy. It’s just my job, so I did what I had to do.”
Pico has won eight of his last nine Bellator appearances dating
back to 2020 —and his lone defeat came when he suffered a shoulder
injury in the opening stanza against Jeremy
Kennedy. Pico believes his time has arrived, though it’s
unclear exactly when reigning champion Patricio
Freire will be ready to return to action after undergoing
surgery for herniated discs.
“I believe I’m one of the best fighters in the world at
featherweight,” he said. “The next step is to fight for the belt. I
feel I’m ready physically and mentally. I’ve waited a long time for
this. I’ve fought whoever they put in front of me. I believe I’m
ready for the next opportunity.”
Pico made his Bellator MMA debut as one of the sport’s most
heavily-hyped prospects in recent memory. He was not given an easy
path early in his career, which led to him losing three of his
first seven fights. While the California native appears to have
turned a corner, he also appreciates the growth he went through
during that process.
“I feel good with my journey,” Pico said. “I was thinking about
this on the plane ride here. Of course, you want a perfect record.
You want to be 16-0 with 15 knockouts, just perfect. That’s not
life, to be honest with you. I’m a father now. I’m so happy with
how my career went. I have a lot more wisdom now to share with my
son.”