Aaron Pico talks fight IQ refinement amid Bellator 271 win

Aaron Pico secured a unanimous decision win over Justin Gonzales at Bellator 271 on Friday, November 12th.

This event transpired at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The evening of MMA action was broadcasted on Showtime.

Coming in hot 🔥 Aaron Pico #Bellator271 pic.twitter.com/QvG4r6cvgr

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 13, 2021

The Jackson Wink product showcased a multitude of skills with his dominant wrestling ability shining through. A ton of top control and steadily ending up in favorable positions amid scrambles were a staple of the fight for Aaron Pico.

The story of the fight also unfurled with Pico showcasing his sharp boxing via well-timed bodywork and also some slickly integrated elbows during close-quarters folkstyle wrestling exchanges along the fence.

This win for Pico put the first-ever blemish on the professional MMA record of Gonzales. In fact, Justin Gonzales was riding a twenty-plus fight undefeated streak dating back to his efforts as an amateur mixed martial artist.

After a bit of a rocky start to his career (going 4-3 across his first seven bouts), Aaron Pico is now riding a five-fight winning streak.

I spoke with Pico virtually at the post-event presser. The excerpt from our virtual media-based interaction is below.

Aaron Pico

The methodology Pico has used to refine his seemingly ever-growing fight IQ

“Well one, I put a lot of time in the gym. But just being consistent. That’s the only thing that you can do is just put in time. I don’t take big gaps off of training. I’m always in the gym. Trying to just learn or do something. But just staying consistent. I sound like a broken record. I say the same things over and over again. Like I said, I don’t want to get too high. I don’t want to get too low. I just want to stay right in the middle. Just do what I can every single day.”

Dylan Bowker

I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.

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