Featherweight standout Aaron Pico makes his return to the cage at Bellator 295 in Honolulu, Hawaii this weekend, with the 145lb weight class in flux.
Pal A.J. McKee is calling lightweight home these days, while Patricio Pitbull once again reigns at featherweight. The champ, however, is moving down to bantamweight for a shot at a third title, leaving the current crop of featherweight contenders in a holding pattern of sorts.
Pico (10-4) is entering his fight with James Gonzalez off a loss to Jeremy Kennedy, albeit one that came when the highly-touted prospect injured his shoulder early in the fight. Which means he likely isn’t far from title contention — but then, Pitbull once held lightweight gold for over two years without defending it.
“A lot of this stuff is beyond my control, but I think with that being done, two and a half years of him holding the division up, I think Bellator won’t make that mistake again,” Pico told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “Because 145 has too much talent, so many good fights to put on. Either it’s vacated, an interim title, or something happens. I don’t believe they’re going to hold the division up for two years, there’s no way I see that happening simply because there’s too much talent.”
Knowing Bellator as he does, Pico believes the higher-ups will do what is best for the promotion. “With that being said, I’ve got to position myself for the best opportunity possible. If they call me and say, when I win, when I get through this guy, ‘you’re fighting for an interim,’ I’ll do whatever I can to get that belt wrapped around my waist. However it may be. I just have to make sure I’m healthy and prepared for the opportunity.”
It’s the rematch with Jeremy Kennedy that Pico believes could be next, assuming all goes well against Rodrigues. “I think that makes the most sense. For sure. Without a doubt.”
Kennedy is the other name in the title picture at the moment; an interim belt up for grabs between the two would certainly keep the division moving. And Pico doesn’t count the pair’s first meeting last year as a loss, the end coming the way it did.
“I don’t count this as a loss. I know the organization doesn’t, the boss doesn’t, and nobody else. The fans don’t,” stated Pico. He notes that he came away healthy, besides the shoulder, without any injuries inflicted by Kennedy in the fight itself. “I didn’t have an orbital that was broke, I didn’t have any injuries with the eye — it could have been a lot worse to be honest with you.”
“So I assess the situation, I look at, okay, well the first 30 seconds, my shoulder came out, and I was able to calm my mind, I was able to minimize the risk and the damage and defend myself for a whole round, basically. And I take that as a big win for me.”
Pico acknowledges that the doctor stopping the fight was “probably the smartest thing.” But in his mind, “winning was more important than the shoulder itself. I believe that I could have still won. Some people think you’re crazy, but I definitely think that I could have still won. It is what it is, that’s the past, and we’ll fight again.”
While Kennedy is the past (for now), Gonzalez is the immediate future. The PFL alum will be making his return to Bellator MMA in the fight, replacing Otto Rodrigues, who would have been making his promotional debut.
There was some surprise at seeing Pico paired up with a newcomer (and even now, a lesser known fighter), given he’s a ranked featherweight with 14 fights to his name, all inside the Bellator cage. But Pico, who is entering his prime with all the talents to be champion, revealed that no fewer than four fighters had turned down the opportunity to face him.
“I had four guys in Bellator either say no, or somehow the fight didn’t happen. I said I’ll fight anybody, so they brought this guy. But man, there’s some guys at the top that don’t want to fight. Say they’re hurt, say they want a new contract, say they want, in order to fight me they want more money, they want this, they want that,” explained Pico. “I don’t know what the truth is, but four or five of them said no. I need to fight.”
Watch our full interview with Bellator 295’s Aaron Pico above. The event takes place on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii.
