Aaron Pico had to learn the hard way.
Pico’s start to his professional career was an unexpected one. He signed and debuted with Bellator at just 20 years of age, and came into the sport with several junior medals in wrestling and as a Junior Golden Gloves boxing champion. Pico promised the world, and he wanted just that as soon as possible.
Unfortunately for him, Pico suffered a submission loss in his debut and at one point found himself 4-3 as a professional. He was fighting far more experienced fighters than him.
Now, Pico is 7-1 since the rut, and the only defeat came due to an injury. He had to dial back on the level of competition as he learned the ropes in MMA. And now knocking on the door of a title shot, Pico advises young fighters to take their time.
“My advice is to develop,” Pico said at Thursday’s Bellator 299 media day. “There’s no rush. Everyone looks at Jon Jones as in, ‘I want to be the youngest (champion). I want to do this,’ but that’s an exception. That’s one guy. Your journey is different. I kind of made that mistake early on and said I want to be champion early on. This game is evolving so much and everyone is good. There’s no rush. You will be champion in due time – when the right time is for you.
“Take your time, (book the) right fights – because it’s a pain in the ass to get your confidence back. For me, I had to really dig deep and surround myself with good people and come back because my confidence was shot for a long time – and it’s coming back for sure.”
Pico (11-4 MMA, 11-4 BMMA) reurns to the cage this Saturday against Pedro Carvalho (13-7 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) in the co-main event of Bellator 299, which takes place Saturday at 3Arena in Dublin. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Although Carvalho is Portuguese, he’s been training at SBG Ireland for many years and is fan favorite in the country. Pico has yet to fight in enemy territory, but he’s excited for the opportunity.
“I’ve never done this in my career as far as MMA,” Pico said. “Of course in wrestling, I’ve been all over the world, and I’ve wrestled, but I think as an MMA fighter, it’s good for my development because I’m sure in the future I’m going to be in people’s backyards and fighting.
“They always say that the Irish are some of the best fans in the world, and I have the opportunity to put on a show in front of them, so it’s going to be good. I’m excited, but it doesn’t play (a factor). I’ve wrestled all over the world, and his fans can’t fight for him. His coaches can’t fight for him. It’s just him and I locked in there.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.
