INGLEWOOD, Calif. – 2019 wasn’t kind to Bellator featherweight [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag]. However, 2020 is starting out as a different story.
Ghosts of his back-to-back knockout losses to Henry Corrales and Adam Borics were put to rest when he viciously knocked out Daniel Carey on Saturday at Bellator 238.
The finish at The Forum was one for the highlight reels, with Pico (5-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) slugging Carey (7-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) early in Round 2 to pick up his first victory since September 2018. Pico credits his gym, Jackson Wink MMA, for the victory.
“The moment feels really good,” Pico told MMA Junkie. “Honestly, I feel really humbled. It was a tough 2019 year, for sure. It was really hard. I said a lot of crazy things. My family heard me out. I was venting a lot. I have to give it up to the coaches as Jackson Wink. They brought me in and put a lot of damn time into me. They were there for me every single day of the week to really help me.
“I have nothing but great things to say about Greg (Jackson), ‘Six Gun’ (Brandon Gibson), coach (Mike) Winkeljohn, Roberto Tussa, and all my training partners. There are a lot of good guys over there at Jackson Wink that help me out. My family. I just feel really, really humbled. I’m very, very happy. I’m happy. That’s all I can say.”
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Despite the emphatic and brutal nature of his return to the win column, Pico wouldn’t call out anyone. According to the 23-year-old fighter, he’s in no position to be calling the shots – at least not at this point in time.
“That’s a good question for Ali Abdelaziz, my manager,” Pico said. “I’m not in the position, honestly. It was a great win for me. It was a great win for my team. But honestly, I’m in no position to be calling people out. I wish I could.
“There’s a lot of people I’d like to fight, but I’ll leave that up to the management and Bellator. Like I said, when I start getting my wins back, I’ll make it known who I want to fight and stuff. Right now, I’m just going to keep chipping away every single day.”
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