One of the most highly touted prospects in MMA has aspirations of lacing up the boxing gloves.
Aaron Pico (7-3 MMA, 7-3 BMMA), 24, already has experienced ups and downs in his young MMA career, but he’s back to living up to his potential after going 3-0 with three finishes in 2020 – including a recent knockout at Bellator 253 – to rebound from a 2019 in which he was knocked out twice.
A standout wrestler, Pico also boxed at a young age, winning the national Junior Golden Gloves tournament in 2009. He’s been able to successfully translate his technique to MMA, with six of his seven professional wins coming by knockout.
Pico is ready to show off his hands in the ring, too. And when he thinks about his future success, it includes boxing matches.
“Of course MMA, you want to be a world champion, and that is a big goal of mine, to be a world champion, defend the belt,” Pico told MMA Junkie. “But I also want to get some boxing fights in, too. That is something that is a big goal of mine. I believe I’m capable of getting some fights in, but I don’t really know. I think just enjoy the process like they tell me to do. Just enjoy it, take one fight at a time.”
Pico (7-3 MMA, 7-3 BMMA) attributes his early career turnaround to a change of scenery. Last year, he left his Southern California gym and Team Bodyshop teammates in favor of moving to Albuquerque, N.M., where he trains at Jackson Wink MMA alongside the likes of former UFC champions Jon Jones, Holly Holm, and more under the tutelage of Greg Jackson.
While Pico admits his desire to box, he said he hasn’t spoken about it with Bellator for some time. That, at least, is largely in part because he’s also mindful of staying level-headed and not getting too ahead of himself.
“Of course, you could have small goals and big goals, but just control what you can control, and all I could do right now is take one fight at a time,” Pico said. “But of course I want to be a world champion in MMA. I want to defend my belt. I want to go into boxing, and we’ll have to see. We just have to take it in stride and, knock on wood, stay healthy. And for me, I want a healthy career, as well, so we’ll see.”
Bellator’s Aaron Pico still has eye on boxing – but when the time is right
