Aaron Pico was held up as a can’t-miss prospect before he ever set foot in the Bellator MMA cage. He now appears poised to finally live up to the hype.
The Jackson-Wink MMA export will trudge into battle against Pedro Carvalho in the Bellator 299 co-headliner on Saturday at 3Arena in Dublin. Pico has rattled off seven wins across his past eight appearances. He last competed on April 22, when he laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over former Ring of Combat and Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder James Gonzales at Bellator 295. Carvalho, meanwhile, has won eight of his past 12 bouts. The SBG Ireland rep last fought at Bellator 291, where he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Jeremy Kennedy on Feb. 25.
As Pico and Carvalho take aim at one another at 145 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
26: Years of age for Pico, who was born in Whittier, California, on Sept. 23, 1996.
7: Pico victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 64% of his career total (11). His list of Bellator victims: Adli Edwards, John de Jesus, Daniel Carey, Leandro Higo, Lee Morrison, Shane Krutchen and Justin Linn. Pico owns two other victories by submission (18%) and two more by decision (18%).
37: Seconds needed for Pico to put away Krutchen with a punch to the body at Bellator 192 on Jan. 20, 2018. More than five years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.
3: Weights at which Pico has fought as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 10-3 at 145 pounds, 1-0 at 150 pounds and 0-1 at 155 pounds.
.827: Cumulative winning percentage between the four opponents—Kennedy, Adam Borics, Henry Corrales and Zach Freeman—who have beaten Pico. They boast a combined record of 67-14.
28: Years of age for Carvalho, who was born on June 8, 1995 in Guimaraes, Portugal.
6: Carvalho wins by submission, accounting for 46% of his career total (13). His methods of choice: two rear-naked chokes, one triangle choke, one armbar, one guillotine choke and one face crank. Carvalho holds to other wins by knockout or technical knockout (15%) and five more by decision (39%).
1,823: Days between setbacks for Carvalho—the longest such run of his career. He dropped a unanimous decision to Adenir Araujo at an International Pro Combat show on Nov. 16, 2015 and did not lose again until his knockout defeat to Patricio Freire at Bellator 252 on Nov. 12, 2020.
38: Rounds completed by Carvalho as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on eight different occasions and carries a 5-3 record in those bouts.
102: Combined victories between the seven opponents—Kennedy, Araujo, Freire, Piotr Niedzielski, Jay-Jay Wilson, Wisma Lima and Artur Lemos—who have defeated Carvalho. They sport an .803 cumulative winning percentage at 102-25.
More must-reads: