Before he was even a teenager, Aaron Pico would sit with his father in the backyard of their Whittier home and regale him with his dreams.
“I’d just tell him that I want to be in the UFC one day and a UFC champion. I want to be boxing. Like, I can do it, you know?” Pico remembered in a phone interview Tuesday night. “And my dad would be like, ‘Of course, son, you can do it. You just keep working hard.”
But first came combat sports reality, with its set of peaks and valleys. Pico became a national Junior Golden Gloves champion at the age of 13, then a CIF State championship wrestler after an undefeated freshman season at St. John Bosco High. He was called “MMA’s next great superstar” by Bellator MMA President Scott Coker after inking a lucrative contract with the fight promotion at 18. Two points prevented him from making the U.S. Olympic wrestling team at 19. A disastrous much-ballyhooed pro MMA debut came at 20, followed by a slew of highlight-reel knockouts, most given and two received.
On Tuesday, Pico’s lifelong dream became reality, signing with the UFC following an unwanted extended break from fighting upon which Professional Fighters League, after acquiring Bellator in late 2023 and later dissolving it, agreed to let the free-agent featherweight go without matching any offers.
“Exciting day for me, to be honest with you,” Pico, 28, said hours after signing his UFC contract. “I’ve been working honestly a long time to get to this to this day, and now the fun begins. So I’m really happy. I’m not going to hide that.”
And while the fun might begin, the course of his professional quest does not. Pico will continue training at Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, where he moved in May 2019 in search of elevating his skills.
Regarded as one of the hardest-working and most dedicated fighters in the sport. Pico is a single dad to his son, Valentino, who will be 4 in July.
He says recalling those backyard talks with his dad, who lives with him much of the time as a supportive lifeline, are emotional to think about.
“We haven’t had an easy road. It’s been very tough as a family. As you know, MMA is not the easiest, and I’ve taken some hard losses,” Pico said. “I don’t have (girlfriend) Kylie (Chacon) on my team anymore. I’ve had to go through that. I’m a single dad, but thank God I have my father here and my mom to help me navigate this. And life is good.”
Pico (13-4) last fought in February 2024 when he exacted revenge on Henry Corrales, who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a stunning, one-punch knockout of Pico at Bellator 214 in January 2019 at The Forum. Corrales agreed to the rematch last year on short notice, flying to Saudi Arabia and getting TKO’d by Pico in the first round.
After that, Pico bided his time as a No. 1 contender while 145-pound champion and Bellator legend Patricio Pitbull called him out. Three times – against Pitbull in September, versus Jesus Pinedo in October and Pitbull again on New Year’s Eve – Pico says he was supposed to fight.
All three times, much to Pico’s growing frustration, the fights were canceled. In the end, Pico says the 14-month layoff might have been a blessing.
“You know, if I would have fought for the title (and won), I would have been locked in. I wouldn’t have been able to go to the UFC, probably till I was 31, 32 years old,” said Pico, who says he will probably attend UFC 314 on Saturday in Miami. “So who knows what the organization is gonna do, but on the flip side of that, in the 14 months, I really got to spend a lot of time with my family. And of course I trained, but with Valentino, it’s a crucial time with him getting older, and I went on a lot of family vacations and enjoyed life.
“It was a good year. I let my body heal mentally and physically. I’m like a caged animal and I’m just ready to go out there and fight for a living.”
Rumors had been swirling since Pico’s contract ended at the end of 2024. UFC President and CEO Dana White confirmed Jan. 18 after UFC 311 at Intuit Dome that signing Pico was on their radar. Even last week, the buzz was that the UFC was close to signing Pico and his first opponent would be fourth-ranked Mosvar Evloev next month at the UFC Apex – which Pico says is not happening.
Both times, Pico was asleep and awoke to his phone blowing up. But now, he is wide awake and eyeing his maiden Octagon fight this summer.
“One thing that my dad used to always and still tells me today, especially with all my losses and stuff, he’s like, ‘Just stay the course, and you’ll get to where you need to go,’” Pico said. “So that’s what I’m doing. You know, now I’m here in the UFC finally. And, you know, I was hungry to get here, but now I’m starving to show the world and the UFC that they made the best decision on signing Aaron Pico.”
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