{"id":603555,"date":"2026-04-13T06:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T06:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/603555\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T06:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T06:33:08","slug":"aaron-pico-discusses-motivation-for-exciting-april-11-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/603555\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Pico Discusses Motivation For Exciting April 11 Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aaron Pico<\/a> (12-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was entering his sophomore UFC appearance Saturday night at UFC 327 inside Miami\u2019s Kaseya Center in search of his first UFC win. Back in August of last year, Pico made his first walk to the fabled Octagon against Lerone Murphy (17-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC.)<\/p>\n

Aaron Pico\u2019s first UFC appearance didn\u2019t go well, with Murphy scoring a first-round knockout (spinning back elbow.) Pico, an alumnus of the late Bellator MMA, touched down in the Sunshine State for a contest with Patricio Pitbull (37-9 MMA, 1-2 UFC) during the evening\u2019s undercard.<\/p>\n

This contest went the advertised 15 minutes with Pico securing the victory by way of unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) on the scorecards. The result was a rarity for Aaron Pico, as Saturday\u2019s contest at UFC 327 is just the second that had to be scored by the judges in his pro career.<\/p>\n

Aaron Pico on Getting First UFC Victory at UFC 327<\/p>\n

Following the fight, the victorious Pico met with the media<\/a> backstage at Kaseya Center. He mentioned the difficulties of the training camp leading into his fight with Pitbull inside the fabled Octagon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a hard three and a half months,\u201d Aaron Pico began. \u201cObviously, with a big loss like my last one in Chicago, it played some mental tricks on me, but I\u2019m just really happy. It was a hard, hard training camp. I had a lot of good kickboxers and grapplers. I knew I was capable of what I did tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just had to stay patient and show it, and I did it tonight,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo I\u2019m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Pico\u2019s Thoughts on Training Camp Continued<\/p>\n

When asked to expand on his thoughts about the difficulties of his camp for Saturday night\u2019s contest, he mentioned that his coaches, led by Greg and Brandon Gibson, traveled with him to Morocco for training.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be the best fighter in the world, you have to train with guys that are better than you in some areas, whether it\u2019s kickboxing, grappling, all-around things,\u201d he said. \u201cMy coaches are great. I worked a lot with coach Roberto Barreiro, who\u2019s in Morocco. I\u2019m just very thankful for His Majesty, King Muhammad VI, [for] allowing me to do my camp in Morocco. We brought in the best guys and I\u2019m very thankful for His Majesty for helping me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pico also expressed relief that he put his defeat from last August behind him on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put together a great training camp and we got the victory,\u201d he mentioned.<\/p>\n

Aaron Pico on Khamzat Chimaev\u2019s Bid to Defend Middleweight Gold at UFC 328<\/p>\n

The next UFC flagship event happens on the evening before the Mother\u2019s Day holiday in the United States, May 9. That evening, Prudential Center in Newark, NJ will serve as the backdrop for UFC 328.<\/p>\n

In the UFC 328 main event,<\/a> the UFC Middleweight Championship will be defended when current titlist Khamzat Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) puts his strap at risk for the first time against challenger and No. 3 contender Sean Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC.) Aaron Pico trained with Chimaev ahead of this past weekend\u2019s fight vs. Pitbull and was asked about the May 9 tilt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Khamzat\u2019s going to win, and I\u2019m rooting for him,\u201d Pico said before clearing his throat. \u201cOne thing I like being around Khamzat is he\u2019s just a guy that works hard. I mean, he just goes and does his job. He loves what he does, he\u2019s very intense when he does his workouts. When I\u2019m in there with him, we\u2019re pushing each other. I\u2019ve said it time and time again, he\u2019s a very humble guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/p>\n

Whether the topic of discussion is his win at UFC 327 over the weekend or his rapport with Khamzat Chimaev, there\u2019s one certainty: Aaron Pico approached both subjects with the class befitting a deserving victor. This is a man who\u2019s proven to be entertaining in fights more often than not.<\/p>\n

While that\u2019s no doubt an important skill, what\u2019s of equal relevance is the manner in which a victorious fighter conducts himself at the podium. Too often, we see fighters go for explosive responses to questions from journalists on press row to generate clicks on social media and views on video-sharing websites.<\/p>\n

Aaron Pico conducted himself with the highest decorum over the weekend. At the end of the day, that\u2019s really worth the applause of the fans.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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