UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Aaron Pico is looking to continue adding new wrinkles to his game.
Pico (6-3 MMA, 6-3 BMMA) notched his first win by submission, a first-round rear-naked choke over Solo Hatley Jr. in the main card opener of Bellator 242 at Mohegan Sun Arena last Friday.
In his pre-fight interview, Pico talked about how he simply wanted to win and come out as unscathed as possible, citing UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman as inspiration. Pico did just that by running right through Hatley Jr., taking him down to the mat and finishing him in the first round.
Although Pico has proven he has knockout power, his continued improvement on the ground has resulted in a more diverse skillset, giving him more ways to win.
“I fell in love with grappling,” Pico told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the Bellator 242 post-fight news conference. “I love grappling and jiu-jitsu. I do it with the gi and no gi. … I feel like just all aspects of grappling I love. Gi, no gi, and I’ve actually fallen in love with it a lot.
“Especially in this game, you’ve gotta be good everywhere, so that’s my motivation, to be a complete fighter. Like I always say, the guy I looked up to, (Georges St-Pierre), he worked on it, he did a lot of grappling, so that’s an option for me.”
Pico has been finished in all three of his losses, which has prompted a new and more tactical approach to fighting that has seen many great champions excel.
“GSP, Kamaru, Khabib, I watch them a lot,” Pico said. “It’s just being smart. It’s just being very, very smart, and that’s the most important thing. I’ve been – like people say, oh, I don’t have a chin, I don’t have this. Well, there’s a lot of great fighters who have been knocked out. It’s not a matter of not having a chin, I’ve made some small, minor mistakes that have cost me very, very big, but that’s OK. That’s why I’m growing as a person and as a fighter, so it’s all good.”
He continued, “I’ve been on a four-fight win streak before and then I fought some very, very tough guys. I just know that I love this sport, and I really had to pick myself out of a deep hole with all the expectations on me.”
