Justin Gonzales on Aaron Pico and Twitter checkmarks at Bellator 271

Justin Gonzales tests skills with Aaron Pico on Friday, November 12th at Bellator 271. This bout emanates from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and broadcasts on Showtime.

J-Train is a former Contender Series product who captured LFA gold at 145 pounds prior to crossing over to Bellator MMA. After winning his debut effort in the promotion over the well-regarded Tywan Claxton, Gonzales looks to earn that sophomore victory under the Bellator banner.

He has been a professional mixed martial artist for the last five and a half years or so. Justin Gonzales captured gold in only his fifth pro outing with Sparta Combat League.

Gonzales is not only undefeated as a pro at 12-0 so far. He also has a twenty-plus fight undefeated streak when referencing his success in the amateur mixed martial arts ranks as well.

Gonzales and Pico, as of this writing, are presently situated in the featherweight division at number eight and number six, respectively. The winner here positions themselves well for a top-five clash in the division for early next year and even a possible title bid later on in 2022.

After a bit of a tumultuous career start (Going 4-3 across his first seven fights), Pico has put together a four-fight winning streak. This stretch has seen him maintain a one hundred percent finishing rate with striking-based and submission finishes alike.

I spoke with Justin Gonzales ahead of this featherweight fight between ranked contenders. The excerpt from our virtual media day interaction is below.

Justin Gonzales

Gonzales’ goal to get Twitter verified and how a win over Aaron Pico may garner him that coveted blue checkmark

Justin Gonzales said, “Shoot, man. I should be verified right now. Absolutely. You know he’s got a big following. Got some hype and I’m hoping to steal some of it.”

How do you see Justin Gonzales versus Aaron Pico playing out on Friday night at Bellator 271?

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.

See Full Bio