Years removed from his controversial splash in the sport, Aaron Pico has a second chance to woo fans
UFC’s latest signing—one of the many names to defect from PFL and/or Bellator over the past years, Aaron Pico—hasn’t had it easy in MMA.
You might think that possessing a decorated background in freestyle wrestling, experience in amateur boxing, and advice from the names within prominent MMA gym Jackson Wink would make Pico MMA royalty, protected and treasured as he slowly rose up through the sport’s ranks. Yeah, not so much.
Expectations were high for Pico right out of the gate. From the very start of his career, Pico was touted as a blue-chip prospect. Before he even stepped into the cage for the first time, pundits and promoters were waxing poetic about what he could be someday.
It’s that exact romanticism surrounding his potential that caused such a massive spotlight to follow him in the Bellator cage, one that most don’t obtain until they’re in their 30s and with more than a dozen pro fights under their belt — not when they have a college freshman babyface and two big 0s on their pro record.
When a young Pico made mistakes, everybody saw: When Zach Freeman knocked him out with an uppercut at Madison Square Garden, causing him to lose his pro debut in 24 seconds. When Henry Corrales, who was making his 20th pro appearance, stopped a still novice Pico in 67 seconds. When 12-fight undefeated pro Adam Borics caught Pico—who yet again was booked for Madison Square Garden—with strikes just five months after the tough test that was Corrales.
While many get to make their mistakes on grimy regional cards where only the most hooked gamblers or diehard fans might be watching, Pico was getting floored in “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
At 22 years old—an age before many even step into an MMA gym—Pico was written off by many as a bust. Overhyped. A failed test by Bellator, who hoped they could create a homegrown star like they later went on to do with AJ McKee Jr.
In retrospect, it’s hard to debate against the idea that everything was thrown at Pico too soon. It wasn’t going to come to Pico overnight, because that’s simply not how this sport, or nearly any sport, works. His early career was fumbled, sure. But his entire career? Anyone who didn’t think the jury was still out was jumping to conclusions.
In the late 2010s, Pico was a talked-about but also mocked-about part of Bellator’s programming. The years that followed were much less documented, as he started his redemption story.
Pico didn’t get many massive fights after his back-to-back losses. Instead, he went up against fighters who carried similar levels of success in MMA. By late 2021, he had pieced together five consecutive wins, with four coming via finish.
By the time Bellator was acquired by the PFL, Pico had won eight of his past nine, with the sole loss coming due to a shoulder injury, the type of result that could’ve been blamed more on bad luck than any sort of strategic shortcomings.
Pico has only appeared once since the PFLlator era of MMA came around more than 16 months ago, and that partially explains why he parted ways with the company recently, as did Patricio Pitbull, Patricky Pitbull, Ryan Bader, Gegard Mousasi, and likely many more to come. But his final win before handing in a metaphorical two-week notice was a full circle moment: His 2019 loss to Corrales was avenged with a February 2024 win in just under a full round via ground and pound.
At 28 years old and with 17 fights on his record, Pico has a lot of career left in him. But, unlike before, he also doesn’t have too little of a career completed yet, either. He’s at the perfect moment as he steps into the biggest position of his career.
The history books will never forget that Pico’s lowest moments came on such big stages. But if he can keep his recent success going as he joins the world’s biggest MMA organization, it will no longer be the stink that follows him wherever he goes.
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