Former Bellator MMA prodigy enters free agency amid interest from UFC

Bellator star Aaron Pico has fled the PFL for a potential fighting future in the UFC.

Christopher De Santiago | Feb 7, 2025

Dave Mandel-Imagn Images

A red-hot free agent has just tapped into the MMA market.

Aaron Pico Says Bye To PFL-Bellator

Former golden gloves boxing champion and freestyle wrestler Aaron Pico is no longer signed to the PFL, the promotion that acquired Bellator MMA in Nov. 2023. Pico had all but one of his fights under the Bellator banner, developing his skills as a homegrown star with seven knockouts.

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On Friday, MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn reported Pico (13-4) had entered free agency and is finally able to fight outside the PFL.

Aaron Pico can now field all fight offers after news of his looming free agent status from PFL arose in December, his manager Ali Abdelaziz tells me.

UFC CEO Dana White said in January that his team was “definitely” interested in Pico when I asked about a potential signing. pic.twitter.com/y7VHMvdPHL
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) February 7, 2025

At 28 years old, you don't find many prospects as primed or talented as Aaron Pico, building off an incredible 9-1 run, his only loss in that stint by injury. Pico holds wins over former Bellator title challengers Pedro Carvalho, Justin Gonzales, and Henry Corrales, avenging a previous loss last February.

If you like knockouts, Pico is your guy.

That's all she wrote! 👀

A pitch-perfect @AaronPicoUSA performance, scoring the TKO in Round 3.#Bellator277 is LIVE on @SHOsports. pic.twitter.com/afmYQlrt7y
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 16, 2022

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UFC CEO Dana White was recently asked about the idea of signing a number of former Bellator stars, from Patricio Pitbull to Vadim Nemkov. The president wasn't sure about these former champions, though he did cite Pico as someone they might be interested in signing.