Aaron Pico has an idea about what he might do if he doesn’t get another MMA fight booked soon, and it’s going to sound a little out there.
If the Bellator featherweight contender doesn’t know what his next step is reasonably soon now that Bellator is owned by the PFL, he might take a shot at making the Olympic wrestling team. But the Californian won’t be trying to get on the mats to chase a medal for the U.S. It would be for Mexico.
“Give me a time frame of when you think I’m going to fight, because if it’s six months, eight months – listen, I have goals,” Pico told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ll go wrestle, honestly. I’ll go try to make the Mexican Olympic team, Paris in 2024. I’ll go box. I’ll keep myself active. But I just want to have some sense of direction of time of when I’m going to fight.”
Pico said dual citizenship in the U.S. and Mexico means he could try to make the Mexican national team and represent that country in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, even though he lives and trains in the U.S.
Pico acknowledged such a thing would come with plenty of obstacles, which means his most likely next step remains in MMA. But he’s just uncertain of what that will be after the merger. Some Bellator fighters will continue to fight other Bellator fighters in Bellator-branded events in 2024. Others will fight their PFL champion counterparts, the PFL has said. And still others might just get folded into the PFL and make runs ini the 2024 seasons.
“I have two fights left on my (Bellator) contract,” Pico said. “I’m No. 2 in Bellator (in the featherweight division). And a big goal of mine was to become a world champion in Bellator. I would love to fight for the belt. That’s something that I want to have on my resume is a Bellator championship. I felt like I really had momentum to be a world champion. I’m right there. I’m starting to come into my own as a fighter. I have everything in order with my team. I feel solid.
“So to be quite frank, I would love to fight for the Bellator world championship and my dream was to have Scott Coker wrap the belt around my waist because I started with him. He stuck by me through the ups and downs. I’m forever grateful for him. He’s always been by my side and encouraging me to keep going through the tough times and through the good times.”
Coker, however, has not been announced as one of the Bellator personnel who will make the transition to the PFL after the sale.
Pico said he wants to fight Bellator featherweight champion and all-time pound-for-pound great Patricio Freire. But “Pitbull” may be targeted for one of the aforementioned champ-vs.-champ fights.
Jeremy Kennedy also has been stumping for a fight with Freire, though, even though Freire has 2023 PFL featherweight $1 million winner Jesus Pinedo on his radar, too. They faced off in the cage after Pinedo’s win.
So when the signs for Pico point toward him continuing to wait for what’s next, the Olympic thing or boxing sound a lot more realistic.
And he said if somehow Kennedy jumps him in line, he’ll ultimately deal with it. But at 27, he’d take fights with all those names.
“I want to be remembered and, to be up front, I want to make money,” Pico said. “I want to put on classic fights. I’m exciting and I want to fight the best guys in the world and in all organizations. I only have a certain amount of time in this game, and I don’t want to waste it. I want to fight.”
But, uh, that, that would’ve, that was a dream of mine. But, uh, I, I’m optimistic that, uh, we’ll see. I just have to be prepared for anything.
