Aaron Pico looked to continue his ascent to the top when he faced long-time Bellator veteran Pedro Carvalho in the co-main event of Bellator 299 in a battle of top ranked featherweight contenders in Dublin.
Third-ranked has been a consummate finisher in his career but showed a well-rounded game to go the distance with James Gonzalez in his last fight. His opponent, Pedro Carvalho, was ranked fifth coming into the fight and had traded wins and losses for his last five fights. Carvalho had a home field advantage in this one as he trains out of SBG Ireland despite being of Portuguese nationality. Pico was a huge favorite going into the bout but Carvalho has spoiled many a party in the past for top contenders and hyped-up prospects alike.
Carvalho came out with his usual low kicks but Pico pressured him back to the fence and got a body lock takedown in the first thirty seconds. Carvalho was able to turn his back to Pico, crawl to the cage, and use the fence to stand backup. After just one quick striking exchange Pico shot again and the same sequence repeated itself, with Pico landing one good knee in the clinch on the way up.
The same thing kept again, Pico landed every takedown at will but could not hold Pedro down. Then everything changed when Aaron suddenly landed a big uppercut that sat Carvalho down. Pico jumped into the full guard of the Portuguese fighter and rained down ground and pound while maintaining control this time. Carvalho’s eye was badly bloodied and eventually he could not just sit there and take shots. Pedro turned his back but was trapped; Pico had him flattened out and landed a few more strikes to the side of the head of a facedown Carvalho to finish the fight.
In his post-fight interview Pico called for a title shot. With his resume and the way the division is currently oriented it will be hard to deny him.
Official Result: Aaron Pico def. Pedro Carvalho by TKO (uppercut to ground strikes) Round 1, 3:05
