UFC has added another Bellator prospect.
Dana White is scooping up plenty of former Bellator fighters. First it’s Patricio “Pitbull” Friere, who’s now scheduled to take on Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314. Now Aaron Pico is getting his chance to prove himself within the promotion as it’s been confirmed that the Bellator Lightweight has signed a deal with the UFC. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report the news.
Pico is one of the exciting names that most fans remember from Bellator. The electric fighter made his professional debut in Bellator. Pico comes from an amateur wrestling background and former Bellator President Scott Coker took a risk on him because he saw Pico as a star. The 28-year-old didn’t do too well in his first bout as he suffered a loss, but Aaron would go on and prove Coker right by delivering entertaining fights. He was put in free agency once PFL purchased Bellator.
Currently, Pico is on a three-fight winning streak. His professional record stands at 13 wins and 4 losses. As you can imagine, Pico is excited to finally come over to the UFC.
“It’s the biggest organization in the world, and I don’t see anybody stopping them to be honest with you,” Pico told MMA Fighting about the UFC prior to his signing. “It’s just the highest level. Let’s just call it what it is. I’m sure there’s guys in other organizations that can compete and win titles, but unless you’re a UFC champion, you don’t have the respect. Why do you think Patricio Pitbull wants to go to the UFC so bad?
“A lot of people want to do it because it is the best organization in the world and you see the horsepower. You see the amount of work that they put in. Not to say other organizations don’t but I’m sure all those guys at the UFC work day in and day out. That’s who I want to fight for. I want to go do my job, they do their job and I think we do really good business together.”
Pico goes on and talks about getting a title fight and how he’s at the prime of career right now. Hopefully, Pico’s able to prove his worth in the UFC. Michael Chandler opened doors for plenty Bellator fighters with his explosive debut and hopefully Pico is able to do the same. As of now, there’s no confirmed date for his UFC debut. Of course, we’ll report it once a date has been announced.