Aaron Pico will be the first to admit he got a little ahead of himself when he first transitioned into MMA after he was considered a prodigy thanks to his background in both wrestling and boxing.
Unfortunately, he stumbled at the start before amassing a 4-3 record in his first seven fights with the last loss on his resume coming from a spectacular flying knee knockout delivered by Adam Borics. A six-month break followed and when Borics returned to action he had spent significant time training under coaches Greg Jackson and Brandon Gibson while also starting to work with a new manager to help direct his career.
Pico, who has won six consecutive games in succession since then, doesn’t feel defeated and attributes his success to learning the sport.
” I really do [feel like a mixed martial artist now],” Pico said The Fighter vs. The Writer . “I was just with coach Greg [Jackson] but last week I asked him a question just using our terminology that we use and he said ‘damn, Aaron, you’re actually starting to understand combat.’ I looked at him, I said I never would have been talking this language three years ago, four years ago and it feels really good.
“I really owe it to all my coaches. Greg Jackson, Brandon Gibson, they really put a lot of time into me. I ask a ton of questions. It feels great. It’s exciting to get out and face .”
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In the three years since Pico suffered his last loss, he’s finally developed into the kind of fighter everyone expected him to be on his first day in the sport. He’s dominated his competition with three knockouts and two submissions in his past six fights.
With a fight booked against Jeremy Kennedy at Bellator 286, Pico believes it’s finally time for him to graduate from prospect to contender with title aspirations already in sight.
” I’ve had the time,” Pico stated. “I’m physically ready. Mentally, I am ready. I’m going to be 26 on Friday and I think that time is arriving when we’re ready to fight for a world championship.”
On Saturday when Pico is looking for a seventh consecutive win, he’ll be sharing the card with the man who handed him his last loss as Borics battles for the Bellator featherweight title against reigning champion Patricio Pitbull.
Pico obviously has a vested interest in the outcome — now more than ever with a potential title shot on the line with a win — and he can’t hide his preference when it comes to the showdown between Pitbull and Borics.
” If you ask me who I would like to win, Pico replied that Adam Borics should win. I really, truly do. It would be a dream come true if I had it all. I’d win against Jeremy Kennedy, defeat him, and then fight Adam Borics to avenge that loss, and eventually become a Bellator champion. This is what I see.
“If I could write out a perfect story, that’s what I would want. I’m rooting for him. For sure .”
I root for Adam Borics.
There’s rarely an instance where a fighter wouldn’t like a second chance at an opponent after a loss but Pico admits the way he fell to Borics in such dramatic fashion always stuck with him a little bit more than the other blemish on his record.
“I’ve been waiting for that rematch for a very long time,” Pico said. “I have been focusing on Jeremy Kennedy, but I would love to see Adam Borics rematch.
“I think he caught me early on in my career. You can see that I was dominant the entire fight until the moment I received the flying knee. It happens, but it’s not my fault .”
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Pico’s approach is very different. He’s not just looking for the Bellator title — he believes that the win at featherweight is certain.
” I am not ready to become a champion, but I do want to be great champion,” Pico stated. That’s all I have been saying. “I’m ready to defend that title. I don’t want to be a good champion, I want to be a great champion. That’s what I am referring to. I want my belt to be defended .”
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