At Friday’s Bellator 222 in New York, Aaron Pico suffered a second consecutive knockout loss, this time courtesy of Adam Borics in a fight that Pico was winning the whole way before being finished.
Prior to his MMA debut two years ago, Pico (4-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) was touted as a generational talent. He’s been brutally finished in three of his seven fights, though, and now a bevy of questions surround his future. How should Bellator handle him going forward? MMA Junkie’s Dave Doyle, Nolan King and Mike Bohn discuss in this edition of “Triple Take.”
* * * *
Dave Doyle: If Pico’s like a No. 1 overall draft pick, then it’s time to sit on the bench awhile
In a way, Pico’s struggles have represented another chapter in the evolution of MMA as a sport. Pico was the leading name among a whole slew of great young, blue-chip talent Bellator president Scott Coker has signed over the past several years.
The string of big-time signings came off as something equivalent to a football team killing it at the draft. If we’re going to roll with this analogy, Pico, a world wrestling champion and Golden Gloves ace, was the No. 1 pick.
With that billing has come the pressure and expectations that go with being labeled “can’t miss.”
Add to that the fact Pico clearly has high expectations for himself. He conducts himself like a professional, he wants nothing but the toughest challenges in the cage, and he had the maturity to take his game to a gym like Jackson-Wink MMA when he realized he needed to make adjustments after his loss to Henry Corrales.
Sometimes, as a promoter, you have to roll the dice. Coker’s success in large part comes from being unafraid to give something a try. If it works, great, if not, you don’t have to go back to it. Pico, on paper, looked like he has all the tools, and when he’s on, he’s been electrifying. So of course Coker gave Pico the opportunity to live up to his promise.
But if not for a couple devastating lapses here and there, we’d be talking today about how Pico is exceeding everyone’s expectations. But those lapses ended in back-to-back knockouts against quality opponents.
History is filled with examples of highly touted athletes getting off to slow starts before they live up to their potential. Coker was right to suggest at the Bellator 222 post-fight news conference both that Pico needs to take a step backwards and that we shouldn’t give up on him.
Coker’s known for bringing in, umm, opponents to help build fighters up. Pico might resist going that route, but at this stage of the game, it’s time for a rebuild.
Nolan King: Pico an example of why experience matters and how it’s undervalued
There isn’t a perfect, cookie-cutter way for a promotion to map out every up-and-coming prospect’s future.
Pico’s long-awaited MMA debut at Bellator NYC in June 2017 was a nightmare of sorts. His night ending in just 24 seconds to 8-2 fighter Zach Freeman. The hangover from the “upset” left many who had picked Pico questioning why they went with such an inexperienced fighter.
When Pico’s second MMA bout was announced by Bellator, it was surprising the promotion was attempting the same formula all over again—pairing him with 10-fight veteran in Justin Linn. At the time, it seemed like a poor decision. What’s the rush? Why not give the kid a couple of fights with opponents who have similar MMA experience?
That’s when Pico started wrecking house, running through opponent after opponent. A walking human highlight, he looked ungodly—a striking beast who’s strong wrestling background hadn’t even surfaced yet in MMA.
At January’s Bellator 214, Henry Corrales made us all realize something. There’s an immense amount of value in owning veteran savvy.
Now finished in back-to-back fights to Corrales and Adam Borics, Pico’s future is being questioned by the entire MMA world. But maybe something should be learned from this. You can’t wish a fighter into being what you want them to be. Time is the only thing that can get them there. Experience is the ultimate ingredient to a championship recipe.
While Pico has shown flashes of unparalleled brilliance, there are certain aspects of his inexperience shines through in fight-ending ways. Against Corrales, Pico radiated an aura of untouchable-ness. His agression and yearning for a brutal knockout backfired. In the Borics fight, he did a great job implementing a gameplan for seemingly the first time in his MMA career. Unfortunately, the first time you utilize your tools inside the cage probably shouldn’t come against a 12-0 fighter.
It’s easy to say in hindsight Pico’s build should have been a slow burn, especially with the way he was trucking opponent after opponent. However, it’s now becoming clear unpopular matchmaking through frustrating “prospect-builder” fights has its value.
Pico isn’t done yet, and hopefully has many more fights ahead of him. He’s a phenomenal young man, who is extremely talented. But it’s time to take a step back, and fix what needs to be fixed. Learning massive lessons against premier competition isn’t ideal.
The main goal in Pico’s career going forward shouldn’t be championships. Instead, it should focus on getting better. In MMA, sometimes the quickest way between two points isn’t a straight line.
Mike Bohn: Pico’s situation is complicated and the answers aren’t easy
It’s crazy to see what’s happened to Pico in the less than two years since his professional debut. His situation is highly complicated and it’s not going to get any less untangled going forward.
More experience is an obvious necessity for Pico, as it is any young fighter. But at this point he, his team and Bellator can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. Pico can go in there and destroy a few fighters with a similar experience level, but it won’t be long until the MMA community grows tired of such matchmaking.
That’s especially true because of the nature of Pico’s back-to-back losses. He was handling himself rather well in both fights before getting hit with a fight-ending shot, so the world can see that he can hold his own on that level, he just needs to minimize the mistakes. There will be an understanding for Pico to add experience over the next few fights, but if he wins those decisively the angst from fans is already predictable.
Bellator needs to get its worth, too. The company pays Pico a pretty penny and, whether Scott Coker would admit it or not, there’s only so much return on investment from Pico crushing overmatched competition over and over. That’s an overlooked part of the reason why Pico was put on the fast track.
Whenever Pico decides to get back in the cage (and hopefully it’s not for a bit), the pressure is going to be immense. It’s weird to think of the 22-year-old being in a do-or-die situation, but another slip up would be catastrophic to his brand, especially if it comes during one of these “rebuild” fights.
It also can’t go without mentioning that there has to be some concern about Pico’s ability to take damage. He’s shown effects of his opponent’s power in nearly every fight and has been brutally finished twice in six months. Those are things that no amount of experience or training can reverse and has stopped countless fighters from realizing their full potential.
The future of Pico will be among the most compelling storylines in Bellator over the next few years. And everyone involved needs to proceed with some serious caution, because there’s still time to right the ship.
For complete coverage of Bellator 222, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
