Why The Hype Surrounding Aaron Pico Is So Unique
Heading into his Bellator debut at tomorrow’s Bellator NYC, Aaron Pico is only 20 years old, and yet he’s accomplished so much.
With a background in both wrestling and boxing, Pico is a physically gifted athlete. He’s won multiple championships in freestyle wrestling, and came one point shy of making the US Olympic team in 2016 at the age of 19. In boxing, he’s won a Golden Gloves junior national championship, and trains out of the famed Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles, California.
Three years ago, Pico signed a deal with Bellator MMA, and this weekend (June 24, 2017), he’ll make not only his promotional debut, but his professional debut. He’ll do so against veteran Zach Freeman in the main card opener of Bellator’s pay-per-view event at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Unsurprisingly, Pico, who some have dubbed as a prodigy of sorts, has garnered quite a bit of attention ahead of the event, and he’s deservingly stood out as a fighter to watch. The interesting thing to note, however, is that the hype surrounding him, which is quite evident, is very unique.
In today’s MMA landscape, it seems as if the more outspoken and the more vocal a fighter is, the more attention he receives. For example, take a look at Bellator NYC headliner Chael Sonnen. Sure, Sonnen is a talented fighter and a veteran of the fight game, but he became one of the biggest stars in the sport years ago due to his ability to work a microphone and sell a fight.
UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor represents another example of this theory. Now to give him credit, the Irishman typically backs up his words inside the Octagon, but his meteoric rise to the top of MMA was based primarily off of his trash talking skills and brash personality.
Pico, however, doesn’t fit this mold – at least not yet. The hype surrounding him isn’t due to any sort of trash talk, or any sort of self-promotion he’s attempted to do.
That isn’t to see he’s not confident, however.
In fact, told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani that he’s the ‘shot caller’:
“I am the shot caller for sure, but I’ve earned that,” Pico said. Come with me and see what I do everyday, and what I’ve been doing since I was four years old. The work is paying off, finally.”
At such a young age, it’s tough to predict where Pico’s career will take him. Perhaps one day he’ll turn into that type of outspoken star that we seem to see all over MMA these days.
At this point, however, he appears to be nothing more than a young fighter garnering interest due to a lifetime of hard work and accomplishments. This is where his hype truly stems from and in my opinion, he represents a breath of fresh air.
In the end, the hype surrounding Pico is undoubtedly deserved, but it’s also different. Let’s see if he lives up to it on Saturday night and beyond.
