HONOLULU – Aaron Pico has an idea.
Saturday at Bellator 295, Pico (11-4 MMA, 11-4 BMMA) defeated James Gonzalez (10-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) by unanimous decision at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena and immediately set his sights on his next move.
“I’m ready to fight for a world championship,” Pico told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “‘Pitbull’ is going down and from what I heard he’s staying down. I think Jeremy Kennedy and I should fight for an interim title. I think it makes sense. We shouldn’t hold up the division. When ‘Pitbull’ is ready to come up, I’ll be more than happy to welcome him to the division.”
Pico, 26, has slowly risen to top contender status since his professional debut under the Bellator banner in 2017. He experienced losses early, but since January 2020 has only lost once – a TKO defeat due to injury against Jeremy Kennedy in October. Pico dislocated his shoulder early in the fight, and the bout was stopped in between Rounds 1 and 2 when his corner could not put it back into place.
With champion Patricio Freire set to challenge Sergio Pettis for the bantamweight title June 16 at Bellator 297 in Chicago, Pico thinks it’s the perfect time for an interim title implementation in a rematch against Kennedy (19-3 MMA, 4-1 BMMA). It would be Pico’s first five-round bout.
“I’m going to fight for a world championship,” Pico said. “Whatever I need to do, I’m going to fight. I’m No. 3. I’m No. 3 in the rankings right now. I’ve taken risks fighting guys who are not ranked. That’s a big risk, but that’s not my fault. There are guys in the top 10 who have turned down fights with me, and there’s nothing I can do. I think that I need to fight somebody above me. But I think that what makes the most sense is fighting for that title.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.