Bellator featherweight Aaron Pico is pleased with another highlight finish, but now he’s aiming to fight for gold.
After his thrilling first-round finish of Pedro Carvalho in the co-main event of Bellator 299 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, Pico says he’s ready for more.
“Ideally, yes. I want to fight for the belt next,” Pico told reporters at a post-fight news conference. “No ifs, ands or buts. I believe I’m ready.”
The victorious outcome was Pico’s second consecutive win following an unfortunate TKO loss to Jeremy Kennedy due to a shoulder injury last October. Prior to that, Pico ripped through six opponents. Now, it’s gold or bust, and he says he truly won’t be happy until he can call himself champion.
“I’m happy, but I don’t have a belt wrapped around my waist,” Pico said. “So, the job is not done, to be honest with you. There’s not much to really celebrate other than a nice victory. But I won’t be entirely happy until I have a belt wrapped around my waist.”
Patricio Freire is the current Bellator featherweight champion. “Pitbull” recently came up short in a bantamweight title challenge against Sergio Pettis in June, and then lost an unexpected, super short-notice bout against Chihiro Suzuki in July.
Pico currently sits at No. 3 in the Bellator featherweight promotional rankings, behind Kennedy and Adam Borics. None of the top featherweights are currently scheduled for bouts, so it remains to be seen which direction the promotion goes for the next title fight in the division.
Reflecting on his career, Pico has found peace with the ups and downs, especially considering he is still on track to reach his goal of fighting for a world title.
“I feel good with my journey,” Pico said. “I was thinking about this on the plane ride here. Of course, you want a perfect record. You want to be 16-0 with 15 knockouts, just perfect. That’s not life, to be honest with you. I’m a father now. … I’m so happy with how my career went. I have a lot more wisdom now to share with my son.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.
