Pico undeterred by disappointing MMA debut ahead of Bellator 183

As the saying goes, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.

Aaron Pico - a 20-year-old prospect long touted as MMA's most promising blue-chipper - had surrounded himself with all the right mentors, made weight without issue, and handled the spotlight like he'd bathed in it on countless occasions before his debut in four-ounce gloves at Madison Square Garden in June.

But a recipe for smashing success produced equally disastrous results in just 24 seconds, as Pico was rocked with an uppercut, then submitted by Zach Freeman at Bellator NYC.

Now three months removed from his anticlimactic maiden voyage to the cage, Pico doesn't just relish everything that got him acclimated to his newfound calling - he'd do it all over again.

"I know what to do, so that’s very reassuring for me," Pico recently told theScore. "I know what to expect, and nothing’s changed. Like I said, before my first fight, everything was going well: Training, the media. I had a great time and I enjoyed every minute of it. Obviously, the fight was a little bit … not the way I wanted it to go, but leading up to it was great. I had a good time.

"I wouldn’t change anything."

Armed with a Golden Gloves background and a wrestling base that brought him just one point shy of landing a spot on the 2016 U.S. Olympic team, the California native enlisted jiu-jitsu virtuoso Eddie Bravo, vaunted boxing trainer Freddie Roach, and American Kickboxing Academy head man Bob Cook in preparation for his foray into MMA.

Pico's deal with Bellator had marinated for well over two years while he made his run in the Olympic trials. And when his night finally came, he wasn't pitted against a fellow neophyte as hot prospects Ed Ruth and Tyrell Fortune had been in their debuts. Freeman - a 10-fight veteran 13 years his senior - had just fought for an RFA title, and was determined to pull the upset under the brightest of lights.

Despite faltering in a bout hindsight says he wasn't ready for, Pico doesn't regret kicking off his MMA career opposite an experienced foe. Far from it, in fact.

(Photo courtesy: Bellator MMA)

"Honestly, yeah. I had a good time. I mean, it was a challenge. It was definitely a big challenge," he said. "If I had relaxed a little bit more, would I have won? Who’s to know? I made the final decision to fight him, I wanted to fight at Madison Square Garden on pay-per-view, so it was my decision, and I enjoyed it. I had a good time. Having my team there, my family there, everything I enjoyed.

"Now, I just need to get the experience and do what I need to do. Everything will fall into place. I have the skill set. I will be world champion, there’s no doubt in my mind, and everybody has different ways of doing it. And mine’s just different."

Dropping down from lightweight to featherweight, Pico has made adjustments paramount to both his development and to ensure his sophomore bout, Saturday at Bellator 183 against 10-fight veteran Justin Linn, won't be a replay of his first.

Enter Antonio McKee, a retired veteran of 37 fights and trainer of fellow Bellator prospects Kevin Ferguson Jr. - son of the late Kimbo Slice - and 22-year-old heir A.J. McKee.

Pico still puts in work with Cook, Roach, and performance coach Sam Calavitta, but deemed McKee, a familiar face, the ideal architect to polish his game and right the ship.

"It’s been a learning curve, for sure," Pico said. "He’s got a lot of ideas, but a lot of people don’t know, I’ve known Antonio since I was about 6 years old, especially with A.J. I was there with Team Bodyshop when he was running a youth program with the kids. So I was there with A.J. and he was always at my house, but Antonio McKee, he’s been with MMA since the (early) stages. He’s seen the sport evolve, he’s evolved with the sport, he has an open mind and he’s helping me blend it all together.

"That’s what I really needed. I have a lot of skill sets, but I need somebody that really coaches (me) to help me blend my skills together, so Antonio McKee’s played a big role in this training camp. I’m with him six days a week, twice a day and we’re making progress."