Aaron Pico returned to the Bellator cage on the prelims of Bellator 252 against John de Jesus.
Pico entered the fight on a two-fight winning streak after submitting Solo Hatley Jr. in July and knocking out Daniel Carey in January. Pico has been considered one of the top prospects in MMA, but lost his pro debut and then suffered back-to-back KO losses to Henry Corrales and Adam Borics.
John de Jesus, meanwhile, entered the scrap on a three-fight winning streak and 1-0 in Bellator. Entering the fight he is 13-8.
Round one starts and Aaron Pico starts to throw a few jabs. Immediately, he shoots for a takedown and got it. Pico starts landing heavy ground and pound. de Jesus looks to get up and the highly-touted prospect makes a solid adjustment to regain control and move his opponent away from the cage. Pico scrambles and gets a hold of de Jesus back. He transitions into the guard and lands heavy elbows which could be fight-ending shots. Aaron Pico has started to really mix in his wrestling and striking and so far and this might be his most well-rounded performance. John de Jesus gets up but Pico ends the round holding de Jesus against the cage. A dominant first round for Pico.
Round two begins and Aaron Pico backs de Jesus to the cage. Pico lands a heavy body shot and shoots for a takedown and gets it. The 24-year-old is landing some heavy shots and you have to wonder how much more de Jesus can take. Much like the first round, Aaron Pico is dominating this fight. He is using scrambles to land elbows then get ahold of de Jesus’ back. De Jesus gets back up and he lands a head kick and Pico lands a heavy right hand that drops de Jesus and finishes him off by TKO. Aaron Pico stands over de Jesus and trash talks him and his corner after he got the KO.
https://twitter.com/Bellator_Europe/status/1327030963378020358
Sheesh #Bellator252 pic.twitter.com/jmzv951a52
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) November 12, 2020
Official result: Aaron Pico def. John de Jesus by KO (punches) at 4:12 of Round 2.
Who do you want to see Aaron Pico fight next?