Aaron Pico – 2013 Cadet Freestyle World Champion

By Christopher Murphy @MurphMMA via www.bjpenn.com

It may be a little early to be predicting things in 2020; but if American Kickboxing Academy’s Crazy Bob Cook talks about a 17-year-old prospect who will change MMA, then it’s a good idea to listen.

MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer reported on this young athlete named Aaron Pico.

Aaron Pico won the FILA Cadet freestyle wrestling world championship in 2013, as well as three FILA national championships throughout the year. He recently made his debut at the Senior level, defeating Russian Alibeggadzhi Emeev by a technical fall (with a score of 8-0).

But it’s not just his wrestling abilities that has MMA coaches and managers alike chomping at the bit: Pico is an accomplished boxer.

Beginning his wrestling at the age of four and boxing at the age of ten, Pico has won the PAL national championship, the Upstanding Boxer Award and a Junior Golden Gloves championships. Not to mention he won the European Pankration championship in the Ukraine.

His skills are so refined at such a young age that Zinkin Entertainment has signed a management contract with Pico for mixed martial arts, a sport in which Pico will not expect to begin competing until after the 2020 Olympic games.

Pico’s intentions are to compete in the 2016 Olympics, at the age of 19, and once more at the 2020 Olympics before he considers professional fighting. His commitment to competing on the international stage has caused him to complete high school online while traveling to other countries and training with some of the world’s best.

“As far as MMA goes, I definitely want to be an MMA fighter and a UFC champion one day,” Pico told MMA Fighting. “I’m wrestling through 2020. I’ll be 23 years old. That’s still young for MMA.

“To me, a complete fighter is a world champion wrestler and a world champion boxer, that’s a complete fighter. I was sparring with top-level boxers and seeing their speed. We definitely have guys in UFC that were complete wrestlers, but I haven’t seen a complete boxer in MMA and it takes time to develop. I was fortunate because from 10 to 13, all I did was box. I don’t think I’ll lose those skills because I’m going to be constantly boxing. When the time is right to compete, I’ll be ready to go. UFC, boxing and wrestling, but I’ve got to keep training and staying focused.”

And by the time Pico hangs up his wrestling shoes for MMA gloves, there’s a good chance the world may already know him as an Olympic wrestling champion; but that’s the tip of the iceberg.

“I’m better as a fighter than a wrestler,” he said. MMA fighters in 2020, you’ve been warned.

Here is a list of the California high school wrestlers who have gone on to compete in MMA. If there are any we are missing, please contact us so we can add them to the list.

	Aaron Pico Height: 5’8″ Weight: 145 lbs. High School: St. John Bosco (SS) College: N/A CIF State Champion as a Freshman, SS Masters Champion & Cadet World Champion
	Antonio Banuelos Height: 5’3″ Weight: 125 lbs. High School: Clovis West (CS) College: 3rd State
	Chad “Money” Mendes Height: 5’6″ Weight: 145 lbs. High School: Hanford (CS) College: Cal Poly 3rd, 5th & 8th in the State, 2nd NCAA D1 Championships, Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year
	Charlie Valencia Height: 5’3″ Weight: 135 lbs. High School: Mark Keppel (CCS) College: Fresno State 6th State, Jr. College State Champion
	Chuck Liddell “The Iceman” Height: 6’2″ Weight: 205 lbs. High School: San Marcos (SS) College: Cal Poly Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
	Cody Bollinger Height: 5’10” Weight: 135 lbs. High School: Sultana (SS) College: Cerritos College
	Cody Gibson Height: 5’7″ Weight: 135 lbs. High School: Mt. Whitney (CS) College: Bakersfield JC, Menlo College 2 Time State Qualifier, Top 12 in state, 2nd in C.S, Two time JC all American, JC state finalist. MMA record is 11-3
	Dan Henderson Height: 6’1″ Weight: 205 lbs. High School: Victor Valley (SS) College: Arizona State 2x State Placer, Former Olympic Wrestler
	Daniel “el Leon” Hernandez Height: 5’9″ Weight: 155 lbs. High School: Arroyo (SJS) College: Cal State Fullerton 4th State
	Dean Lister Height: 6’1″ Weight: 220 lbs. High School: San Diego (SDS) College: NA
	Danny “Last Call” Castillo Height: 5’9″ Weight: 155 lbs. High School: Laguna Creek (SJS) College: Menlo NAIA All-American
	Freddie “Bigg” Aquitania Height: 6’1″ Weight: 238 lbs. High School: College: Skyline CC 2x State Placer & NHSCA All-American, 3rd JC State
	Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez Height: 5’9″ Weight: 153 lbs. High School: Santa Ana (SS) College: San Francisco State 2x State Qualifier, Master Champion, Former WEC Lightweight Champion
	Hector Ramirez “Sick Dog” Height: 5’10” Weight: 205 lbs. High School: John Glen (SS) College: East Los Angeles
	Jake Shields Height: 6’0″ Weight: 170 lbs. High School: Calaveras (SJS) College: Cuesta College Four-year varsity wrestler and CIF state qualifier. Finished 2nd place at the Amateur Athletic Union National Freestyle Championships, qualified for U.S.A./ FILA Nationals & World Team Trials in both the junior & university men’s divisions.
	Joe “One Bad Mofo” Soto Height: 5’6″ Weight: 135 lbs. High School: Porterville (CS College: CIF State Champion, Junior Collegiate Championship Runner-up (2007), Junior Collegiate Championship 3rd Place (2006),NHSCA Senior All-American (2005)
	Joe Stevenson Height: 5’6″ Weight: 135 lbs. High School: Silverado (SS) College: Victor Valley JC He won season 2 of the ultimate fighter and eventually lost to B.J Penn in a title fight.
	Joey Beltran “The Mexicutioner” Height: 6’1″ Weight: 205 lbs. High School: Carlsbad (SDS) College:
	Justin Durham Height: 5’6″ Weight: 135 lbs. High School: Ponderosa (SJS) College: CS Bakersfield 3rd CIF State, Sac-Joaquin Masters Champion
	Lewis “Lethal” Gonzalez Height: 5’10” Weight: 155 lbs. High School: Turlock (SJS) College: 2x State Champion
	Marvin Eastman “The Beast Man” Height: 5’9″ Weight: 207 lbs. High School: Merced (SJS) College: State Champion
	Mark Munoz “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Height: 6’0″ Weight: 185 lbs. High School: Vallejo (SJS) College: Oklahoma State 2x State Champion, NHSCA National High School Champion, 2x Big-12 Champion, NCAA D1 National Champion, 2x NCAA D1 All-American
	Nate Diaz Height: 6’0″ Weight: 169 lbs. High School: Tokay (SJS) College: He was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5.
	Nick Diaz Height: 6’0″ Weight: 170 lbs. High School: Tokay (SJS) College: He has competed for PRIDE, Strikeforce, EliteXC, the WEC, DREAM, and Shooto. He is a former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and a former WEC Welterweight Champion. Diaz played a role in the award winning MMA documentary Fight Life, released in 2013.
	Stephen Abas Height: 5’5″ Weight: 135 lbs. High School: James Logan (NCS) College: Fresno State 3x State Champion, 4x state placer, NHSCA National High School Champion, 3x NCAA D1 National Champion, 4x NCAA D1 All-American, Silver in 2004 Olympics
	Tito Ortiz “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Height: 6’2″ Weight: 205 lbs. High School: Huntington Beach (SS) College: 4th State, 2x Jr. College State Champion, Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
	T.J. Dillashaw Height: 5’6″ Weight: 135 lbs. High School: Bret Harte (SJS) College: Cal State Fullerton 2x State Placer
	Urijah Faber “The California Kid” Height: 5’6″ Weight: 135 lbs. High School: Lincoln (SJS) College: UC Davis Former WEC Featherweight Champion

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

@tjDillashaw Profile

Going into his title fight against former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight champion Renan Barao at UFC 173 earlier this year, T.J. Dillashaw wasn’t given much of a chance to beat a man who was on a crazy 32-fight win streak.

After all, Barao had previously dominated the entire competition which included T.J.’s mentor, Urijah Faber, on two separate occasions.

Undeterred, Dillashaw not only defeated Renan to claim the 135-pound belt, he did it by beating one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world at his own game: the striking department (video highlights here).

So when UFC came calling for an immediate rematch, “The Viper” didn’t hesitate to accept the bout, which goes down this weekend (Sat., Aug. 30, 2014) at UFC 177 in Sacramento, California.

Because as Dillashaw told FOX Sports, beating the scrappy Brazilian twice is another step to reaching legendary status.

His words:

“I said ‘yes’ instantly. I had no question about it because now that I’m the UFC champion and that gold is there to help make me a legend and build my name up as high as possible, and to do that Renan Barao’s the one to beat. He’s the one to propel my name into greatness. He’s the one who is ranked ahead of me in pound-for-pound, even though I demolished him. So he’s still ranked ahead of me in the pound-for-pound list. I beat him, I move up the ranks. While the win is still fresh in his mind and in my mind, I might as well do it again. I feel like I’ve got his number and I’m ready to put it on him and get him scared and he knows I’m going to beat him again.”

While most see the rematch as a chance to allow Barao to change the things he did wrong, it also gives Dillashaw a chance to capitalize on what he did right one more time.

TJ Dillashaw – Cal State Fullerton (Bret Harte HS)

And when T.J. gets more than one chance to compete against the same opponent, it doesn’t bode well for the opposition, which is why the the bantamweight kingpin is confident he’ll retain his strap.

Also, since their initial fight is only four months removed, T.J. looks to take advantage of a fighter who still may not have recovered from the beating he took. Which is unfortunate for Renan, because he’s stepping into the cage only to be on the receiving end of another beat down.

“I guarantee he’s thinking in the back of his head everyday when he’s training that he doesn’t want that ass whooping to happen again. I’m going to put it on him and he’s going to fold. It’s a huge psychological advantage for me. For one, I’ve always gotten better when I’ve competed against someone multiple times in wrestling and in practice and fighting. The more I practice against you, the more I figure you out. Two, he took a beating and he took a lot of punishment to the head and I rocked him a bunch of times and I don’t even know if he’s had enough time to recover from that.”

For Dillashaw, beating Barao two times in the span of four months will not only up his ranking status, but — much like Chris Weidman earned for beating Anderson Silva twice — give him the proper respect he deserves for stopping a fighter who at times, looked unbeatable.

After that, the sky is the limit for T.J. as he eyes bigger and better things, such as a higher spot on the pound-for-pound rankings, another belt in a different division, and of course, legendary status.

You know, “hall of fame material.”