A decade away from wrestling but Aaron Pico looked like he hasn’t missed a step after a nearly shutout performance over Lance Palmer at RAF 10.
The UFC featherweight contender was one win away from going to the Olympics in 2016 but after losing in the finals of the U.S. trials, he decided to turn his full attention to MMA. In his first match back, Pico was fast, strong and dominant as he beat Palmer with a 12-1 score for a technical fall victory in the second period.
“It’s been 10 years since I’ve been away,” Pico said after his win. “Thank you to wrestling, everything it’s done for me. I’m just so happy to be at RAF. I want to make it one of the sports and the most popular sport in the world.”
After the win, Chael Sonnen asked Pico about potentially running it back with Penn State legend Zain Retherford, who is a three-time NCAA champion and a gold medalist in the World Championships. While Pico never went to college, he ran through Retherford multiple times in tournaments and it sounds like he’s down to do it again in RAF.
“One thing I can say about that, I beat him six times for free but now I can beat him and get paid for it?” Pico said. “Sign me up.”
It didn’t take long for Pico to quickly get a takedown on Palmer and then with a roll he added another two points. Pico was on the attack early and often and he brought Palmer down again to go up 6-0 in the first period.
Pico was fast and powerful as he kept coming after Palmer, looking for an early finish but the All-American from Ohio State was able to survive until the whistle.
On the restart in the second period, Pico shut down a Palmer takedown attempt and with a quick reversal. Palmer did manage to get reversal of his own for one point but Pico attacked seconds later to get another two points to end the match.
At his best, Pico looked like the future of American wrestling but he chose to focus on MMA and that remains his main priority. But now Pico is back on the mats and it appears he’s ready to spend more time in RAF after his win on Saturday.
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