Bellator star Aaron Pico recently signed for the UFC and now he’s set his sights on becoming a champion by 2026.
“I will say this, I wrote down a goal — and I wrote this down maybe eight or nine months ago — and I said I want to be UFC champion by 2026,” Pico said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “That’s what I said. And I believe I can really do that. If they give me the fights, I go in there and do my job.
“[Ortega] or Aljamain Sterling, somebody like that. [Then] I say go straight to the title. I want the title. If I get a good knockout, why not fight for the title?”
A highly-regarded wrestler and talented boxer with proven knockout power, the 28-year-old Pico has spent the entirety of his 8-year career up to this point in the Bellator promotion, going 13-4 in the process.
Along the way he’s racked up nine finishes via strikes, including back-to-back 1st round TKO victories in his last two fights before joining the UFC.
So Pico has a very good resume, but it’s not been an easy time for fighters transitioning over from Bellator lately, with two former champions in that promotion, Michael Chandler and the debuting Patricio Pitbull both suffering losses at last weekend’s UFC 314 event to Paddy Pimblett and Yair Rodriguez respectively.
For his part, Pico never fought for a title during his lengthy run in the Bellator promotion, but he’s not overly concerned about that as he believes that being a champion in the UFC is the only title that really matters in the end.
““I’m just such a competitor, that I’m like, ‘You think they’re the best? Wait until I get there and I show there’s a whole different level.’ I just want that opportunity,” Pico said “… We want that UFC belt. I want to go in the history books.
“Let’s just call it what it is. Patricio [Pitbull] is a legend, honestly, one of the best fighters in the world. He has so many defenses in Bellator and titles and this and that, but at the end of the day, what does that really mean? If you don’t have that UFC belt, what does that really mean?”
The UFC clearly hold Pico in high regard as there was already talk that he could make his debut against the undefeated, No.4 ranked Movsar Evloev, and while that match-up quickly fell through, he’s eager to test himself against the best the division has to offer.
“Now we’re here and the work is just starting. I don’t want a participation trophy for the UFC. I want a belt, and I’m not stopping.”
