Because of the PFL’s bungling of the 2023 Bellator takeover, the new merged promotion has been hemorrhaging talent. Fighters complain about not getting enough dates, their contracts, pay, and just general mismanagement. And one of the most well-known and promising fighters that Bellator has lost is Aaron Pico. The American was already a star in Scott Coker’s fighting land when he decided to leave it for greener pastures. Pico signed with the UFC in April 2025, marking a turning point in his career. Invited for a special one-on-one interview with Jon Anik during the UFC 316 presser, the buzz around the prodigal 145fer is pretty high.
While he is yet to make his debut, the 28-year-old is already a well-known name in the MMA scene and has proven himself over the years. This is why the featherweight is likely to get a ranked opponent on his promotional debut. But in the meantime, let us take a look at his exhilarating MMA journey so far.
How Aaron Pico went from the greatest MMA prospect to being written off
“From everything I’ve seen and heard, Aaron Pico may be the greatest prospect in the history of MMA,” then-Bellator President Scott Coker said in 2017 ahead of Pico’s debut at Bellator NYC in 2017. And there were very good reasons for the then-Bellator boss making such a big claim. Pico was brought to Coker by MMA manager extraordinaire, Bob Cook, who was the one responsible for getting the then-unknown Daniel Cormier signed to Strikeforce in 2009, back when Coker was CEO there.
Before Pico’s MMA debut, Cook, in fact, would claim that the youngster was ahead of some all-time greats of the game back. “I’ve been around a lot of great prospects. I was with B.J. Penn during his first pro-fights. Cain Velasquez, [Daniel] Cormier. These guys have something in them. They’re going to win, even with no experience. But I’ve never had someone at this high of a level who is so young,” Cook told ESPN.
Even before his debut at the age of 20, Pico was identical to what people said about Penn in his early days. A prodigy! Pico started wrestling at just four years old and was competing in national tournaments by the time he was six. By age nine, he expanded his combat sports journey to include boxing, and at 12, he demonstrated remarkable independence and dedication by flying to Japan alone for a month of training. As a high school freshman in 2013, Pico went undefeated with a 42-0 record and captured the California state wrestling championship.
The following year, he signed a developmental contract that supported his pursuit of a spot on the 2016 U.S. Olympic wrestling team. Though he ultimately pivoted to mixed martial arts, Pico’s early accomplishments laid a foundation for one of the most promising transitions from wrestling to MMA in recent memory. This is the reason even Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen told ESPN: “This is the No. 1 prospect in the history of MMA. I have never seen a guy come in more coveted, with more praise around him, more pressure put on him, and more anticipation than Aaron Pico. I truly believe not only will he take over the division, he will become the face of the company and the face of the industry.”
If Cook and Sonnen are to be believed, Pico was destined to be an all-time great even before he set foot into an MMA cage. Totally not the type of person who would lose in 24 seconds on his MMA debut, right? Well, wrong. Pico’s debut clash against Zach Freeman went horribly as the latter submitted him via a guillotine choke before the fight even properly started.
We’ve seen this film before! A hyped young prospect is expected to knock down the door, but just cannot deliver, fails spectacularly, and then eventually fades into oblivion. But, as you may suspect from him being signed by the UFC, that is not what happened with Aaron Pico.
Is Aaron Pico about to prove he was worth the hype?
While the American went on a tear after the loss, winning his next four via first-round KOs, he lost his next two fights after these impressive wins, convincing those still holding out hope that he was no Daniel Cormier or Cain Velasquez. But still, he had a lot to offer. What the 13-4 fighter is, is an electrifying fighter, who comes from the kill-or-be-killed school of thought.
So he kept fighting. And guess what? He has really come into his own in the recent past and indeed looks like he could be an all-timer after all. Pico has lost one out of his ten fights in the past five years. That lone loss, too, came as a result of a shoulder injury he got during his Bellator 286 clash against Jeremy Kennedy and not because he was bested by his opponent.
And the 28-year-old is determined to make sure he redeems himself for the losses he took when he admittedly was very young, in his early twenties, which is the MMA equivalent of being a toddler. “I’ve taken some lumps, of course, that’s no secret, but I think I’m well on my way to becoming a champion. I don’t want to be a participant in this. I want to be a champion,” Pico told ‘Sportsnet’ in an interview during UFC 314 fight week. What do you think about Aaron Pico’s journey to the UFC?
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