Tomorrow night on the main card of Bellator 260, Aaron Pico (7-3) will be making the walk for the 11th time in his professional career. Standing in his way is going to be the tough Aiden Lee (9-4).
Pico comes into the bout as Bellator‘s sixth ranked featherweight while Aiden Lee is just outside the top ten. Aaron Pico will be looking to pick up his fourth consecutive win which would match his longest winning streak of his career.
The last time we saw Pico was at Bellator 252 when he flatlined John de Jesus with a massive overhand right. It seems crazy that we are still only four years into the professional career of Aaron Pico and he’s still only 24 years old.
Bellator signed Pico before he had any professional fighting experience. Pico had been labeled as the future of MMA given his Olympic-Caliber wrestling and his skills in boxing. The promotion rushed him right in against Zach Freeman at Bellator 180 and Pico promptly lost in 24 seconds.
It was a serious back to reality moment for the top prospect. However, Pico would bounce back and win four straight before suffering back-to-back knockout losses. Those losses changed the career of Aaron Pico and made him reevaluate the way he was fighting in Bellator.
Bellator 260
Pico switched to training at Jackson-Wink full time and he changed the way he was fighting. In his losses, Pico was easily drawn into wars and seemed to fall in love with his boxing. Keep in mind, his top skill is his wrestling.
Over this three-fight win streak, Pico has gone back to his routes. He’s mixed in his wrestling which makes his hands look even better. The results have been three straight finishes and Pico is only a win or two away from challenging for a Bellator title.
Tomorrow night isn’t going to be easy for Pico. Aiden Lee has won back-to-back fights in Bellator after dropping his debut with the promotion. In nine professional wins, Lee has submitted five opponents and knocked out two.
This is going to be another tough test for Pico, but it’s one that I believe he will pass. I think the combination of speed, power, athleticism, and technique will win out here. Win or lose, Pico has never gone the distance and I don’t expect that trend to break at Bellator 260.
Prediction: Aaron Pico by TKO – Round 2