Last night at Bellator 252, Aaron Pico (7-3) returned to the cage to take on John De Jesus (13-9). De Jesus was expected to give Pico a tough challenge in the prospects third fight of 2020.
However, Pico showed once again just how far he’s come since making the switch to Jackson’s MMA. The top Bellator prospect completely dominated John De Jesus from the opening bell to the knockout finish.
In the first round, Pico used his dominant wrestling to control De Jesus. Pico showed incredible takedowns and he showed off his great ground control. De Jesus forced a couple of scrambles, but ultimately Pico got him right back down.
When the fighters were on the feet, Pico did a fantastic job of ripping power shots to the body and up top. What I was really impressed by was his ability to chain together his punches and transition into his takedown attempts.
Pico seemed to have De Jesus guessing all night. In the second round, De Jesus forced another scramble to get back to his feet. However, once they were there, Pico was able to land a massive overhand right that put De Jesus out.
The power of @AaronPicoUSA folded him in half ?
(via @BellatorMMA) pic.twitter.com/eBHRx6LPFX
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 12, 2020
Bellator’s Pico has transformed
Pico’s domination just goes to show you how much he’s evolved since moving over to Greg Jackson’s gym full time. He started training part-time at Jackson’s prior to the loss to Adam Borics.
However, after that loss, Pico decided to put his career completely into the hands of Greg Jackson. Jackson is known as one of the best if not the best trainer in the world. Jackson has trained some of the best in the world.
Most notably, Jackson has been a lead trainer for Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones. Jackson is known for his brilliant gameplans and his ability to really bring out a fighter’s strengths. Pico’s Bellator career is really taking off since joining Jackson’s.
He looks like a completely different fighter. Over his last two performances inside the Bellator cage, we’ve seen just how dominant Pico’s wrestling is. His hands and power are great, but his wrestling is where he really shines.
Early in Pico’s career, we’d see him rely on one strategy. Either it was completely wrestling or completely boxing. He was drawn into firefights and found himself staring up at the Bellator lights a few times.
However, Greg Jackson has really transformed the way Pico fights. We are now seeing him tie everything together and he’s looking incredibly special. His three performances this year should put the Bellator featherweights on notice.
He’s still improving and he’s still got more to learn, but Aaron Pico is looking more and more like the special fighter we knew he could be. A lot of the credit for that should go to Greg Jackson.