Daniel Cormier isn’t among those who believes Aaron Pico fought someone the caliber of Zach Freeman too early.
Pico’s mixed martial arts debut ended up being a disaster. He was submitted in 24 seconds at Bellator NYC inside Madison Square Garden. Many felt that Pico shouldn’t have been matched up with Freeman, who has been fighting professionally since 2011.
During a recent appearance on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour,” Cormier said Pico is an exception to the rule:
“I don’t believe it was a mistake. I believe he was ready for it because I believe that he’s a rare, special talent.”
The Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title holder went on to say that Pico’s career is far from over.
“I believe that his story is far from written. You got to remember that the greatest fighters of all time have lost: Anderson Silva has losses and people call him the greatest of all time, Chuck Liddell has losses, Georges St-Pierre has losses. So it’s not like Aaron Pico’s story is written, Aaron Pico’s story is just beginning. You know, he told a chance, and look, man, not everybody is Conor Mcgregor, not everybody shoots big and hits every single time. Aaron Pico shot for the stars and it didn’t work out in the first fight, but it’s only the first fight. Aaron Pico is still going to be a world champ and he’s still going to be one of the greatest fighters to ever put on a pair of gloves. So no mistake, I believe that the team made the right choice and he’ll be fine.”
