Newly signed UFC Vederweight Aaron Pico bounced back from his disastrous MMA debut emphatically on Bellator 183.
Aaron Pico got a quick leap to start his MMA career when he signed at Consensus No. 2 Promotion, Bellator, after a successful Freestyle wrestling career. At the time of his professional debut at Bellator 180, Pico was considered a one -off prospect.
But the MMA career of Pico did not get an ideal start. Pico lost to Zach Freeman in 24 seconds in a huge upset in the lightweight division, while Freeman submitted him with a Guillotine Choke.
Many prospects would fall apart after such a disastrous MMA debut, but Pico showed an incredible determination in his second bell.
Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty images
Aaron Pico's first MMA victory ended in a wild knockout in the first round
In his second professional fight, Pico faced Justin Linn when he went to the 145 pound of weight class after his debut loss. The map was led by UFC legends Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen in one of the most notorious rivalry in the history of Bellator.
Within the first 15 seconds, Pico came into the fight in a few early problems, after Linn landed a clean right hand that Pico's head broke back in the middle of the cage. But Pico landed a huge Takedown on Linn and controlled the back of his opponent before landing several annoying land attacks.
After a minute of land control, Pico Linn allowed to return to his feet and did not leave the pressure away. He and Linn came to the fence in a Wild Slugfest, with both feather weights lands.
Pico then changed for the second time in as many minutes for the second time, before the fight returned to the feet. While Pico and Linn found their timing, Pico landed a huge left spill to Linn's Kin who sent his opponent.
Pico's Knock-Out started a Four-Fight Winning series in the Bellator Featherweight Division, with victories over Leandro Higo and Lee Morrison. He also turned Shane Kruchten with a debilitating body shot just a few months after the Linn fight.
Pico would then lose back-to-back to Henry Corrales and Adam Borics, so that the first hype of his MMA climbing is filled in. But where to solve, Pico won 9 of his next 10 battles before he signed at the UFC in Free Agency.
Pico's well-completed skills, combined with his One-Punch knockout power, will make him a puzzle for his UFC debut opponent at UFC Abu Dhabi.
Aaron Pico could earn UFC title shot with Win in Debut about Top Contender
Pico and Movsar Evloev will clash next month in a five-round featherweight Co-Main event at UFC Abu Dhabi. Evloev has been waiting for months for a shot in the featherweight title, and according to UFC CEO Dana White, he gets it with a victory over Pico.
But Pico has the chance to spoil the UFC plans in his promotion debut. While UFC Vederweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is waiting for the first defending defense of his second reign, Pico was able to skip the line with a large performance against EVLOEV.
Pico will try to put an end to the slip of former Bellator stars participating in the UFC Octagon, after recent losses by Patricio 'Pitbull' and Patchy Mix.