Aaron Pico was defeated by Zach Freeman in his MMA debut (Photo/Juan Garcia)One month after making his disastrous debut at Bellator NYC, Aaron Pico has committed to return to MMA.
The 20-year-old former amateur wrestling phenom will climb back into the cage at Bellator 183 in San Jose's SAP Center on Sept. 23, Bellator CEO Scott Coker told ESPN Friday.
Pico's lightweight bout will be a main-card feature, shown on Spike TV. An opponent has yet to be named.
Also slated to appear at Bellator 183: a lightweight headline fight between Benson Henderson and Patricky Freire, and the promotional debut of heavyweight Roy Nelson who will face Javy Ayala.
Pico, who passed on a promising collegiate wrestling career by signing with Bellator at age 18, had been the focus of one of the most-anticipated, most-hyped pro MMA debuts in years last month in New York City. However, it was a colossal fail for Pico, as he was submitted with a guillotine choke in just 24 seconds by veteran Zack Freeman in New York City on June 23.
A high school state wrestling champion at 132 pounds, Pico made it to the finals at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, falling to former Penn State NCAA champ Frank Molinaro. In addition to his wrestling credentials, Pico brings an amateur boxing background to MMA, having won a National Junior Golden Gloves title in 2009.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now