So you'll be fast asleep soon. But when you wake up, be sure to preach about how amazing his defense is...
Incredible clip
Is this from this week?
I've been away on vacation this week and haven't been able to check my YouTube
It's from June 21. Here's a good article about it.
Aaron Pico’s Crash Course in Jiu-Jitsu: ‘I got killed’, then addicted
Patrick DonabedianJune 22, 2017
Photo By: Michael Plaster
Add Aaron Pico to the long list of beginning jiu-jitsu practitioners to have uttered such humble words. Except most of us are not a 20-year-old white belt heading into our professional MMA debut at Madison Square Garden.
Most BJJ practitioners, including myself, are early-to-middle-aged men who love MMA and dream of our future sons becoming world champions. We imagine driving our prodigal 5 year old to his first jiu-jitsu lesson. Or should it be wrestling? Boxing? Kickboxing? Muay Thai? Or all at the same time?
How does one mold the perfect MMA Fighter?
To answer this I went straight to the source — Aaron Pico. Riding along on a training day, we covered boxing, strength & conditioning, jiu-jitsu, and about 150 miles of Southern California highway.
So for the benefit of both parents of future contenders and oddsmakers, what follows is a Friday Night quarterbacking of Pico’s lifelong preparation for his Bellator 180 lightweight debut against MMA veteran, Zach Freeman. Has Aaron Pico set the MMA blueprint or is he just another overhyped prospect?
Tracing Back to His Pankration Roots
Aaron Pico is perhaps the most experienced 0-0 fighter of all time. He started training in both wrestling and boxing before George St-Pierre ever stepped foot in the octagon.
“My Dad wanted me to ride motorcycles…but I said I like wrestling and boxing more.”
“My Dad wanted me to ride motorcycles…but I said I like wrestling and boxing more.” So while the rest of the kids took to the motocross trails and soccer fields, Pico doubled down on musty wrestling rooms and heavy bags hanging from garage ceilings.
Even more surprising is that Pico fought Pankration at the age of 8. “I remember going on Indian Reservations and fighting at 8 and 9 years old.” He and his father admit that it sounds brutal, but he promises his ambitions were strictly of a professional nature. “I haven’t been in a street fight since 4th grade. It’s scary.” He and his father, Anthony, would travel as far as Ukraine to compete in the European Championships for Pankration.
Junior Golden Gloves boxing and cadet wrestling tournaments soon made their way into the mix. Pico’s specialization in wrestling first paid off with a California state title in his freshman year at St. John Bosco.
Exiting after just one year to go pro on the international circuit, Pico elevated his game to more of a freestyle form. “Stylistically he was better suited [for the Olympics] than the other American competitors because he spent so much time overseas,” says Bob Cook, Pico’s manager and head cornerman.
Hurry Up and Wait…3 Years
Upon putting his hat in the MMA arena, Aaron and Anthony’s first decision was to enlist the services of the above mentioned Bob Cook under Zinkin Entertainment.
As soon as Scott Coker replaced Bjorn Rebney as president of Bellator, it was just a matter of time that Cook’s top young client would become Bellator’s top young prospect. “I’ve had a long history of developing fighters with Scott,” says Cook of the former Strikeforce president and stalwart of the San Jose MMA ecosystem.
Pico signed with Bellator in November 2014, immediately after reaching the legal age of 18. Numbers and contract terms were undisclosed, but rumors suggest that the highly lucrative deal included a regular salary.
With 14 years of amateur wrestling and boxing experience, Pico chose to coil the spring back a little bit further — by 2 years and 9 months to be precise. The Viacom-backed company would have to wait for a return on its investment.
Checking Off the Bucket List
As if multiple Pankration championships, Junior Golden Gloves boxing titles, and international wrestling championships were not enough, Pico had one bucket list item to check off before stepping into the cage — the Olympics. Bob Cook says Bellator was fully on board for this. “To medal in the Olympics is something I wanted to see him do…Bellator was just as supportive.”
Ultimately Pico fell short on a technicality in the final match while attempting to become the first teenager since 1976 to make the US Olympic team.
In summation, Pico’s 3 years leading up to his MMA debut has seen a runner-up bid for the US Olympic wrestling team, an additional 15 pounds of muscle, knee surgery, and now jiu-jitsu training to round out his wrestling and boxing pedigrees.
4 Months Equals 2,880 Hours
What can you say about a guy who’s trained jiu-jitsu for just four months and never donned the gi? Most would assume that submissions will take a backseat to wrestling and ground and pound on June 24th.
Being one of his training partners and a jiu-jitsu confidante, not much can be revealed here other than that Pico spent a large portion of his 2,880 hours training under the watchful eye of Eddie Bravo.
Their relationship began with a direct message from Pico to Joe Rogan on Twitter. “I’ve always known about Eddie Bravo. My dad and I were watching videos of him doing the Twister and talking to Rickson Gracie. I said, ‘Man, I want to go learn from that guy.”
“I’ve always known about Eddie Bravo. My dad and I were watching videos of him doing the Twister and talking to Rickson Gracie. I said, ‘Man, I want to go learn from that guy.”
Rogan immediately responded and hooked them up.
Aaron was already well aware of the controversies within the jiu jitsu community about gi versus no-gi. “I respect other philosophies, but I don’t think I need to be in a gi because I’m not going to be wearing it in MMA.”
Eddie Bravo’s MMA grappling philosophy goes even deeper. “The first things a kid should train are wrestling and striking. Maybe do jiu-jitsu on weekends. It’s easier to pick up later,” says the Tenth Planet founder.
“You don’t need explosion for all the killing techniques in jiu jitsu,” says Eddie Bravo, who believes that developing fast twitch muscles is most important during a child’s growing years. “For positional dominance and transitions [in jiu-jitsu] you need that athleticism, balance, posture, base, clinching wrapped up in a giant burrito of explosion.”Having lacked such a ‘burrito of explosion’ against so many wrestlers in his competition years, Bravo adapted his patented bottom clinching system, saying, “The tenth planet system is built for that. When you can’t wrestle as good as those guys, you better be able to finish from bottom or at least have Demian Maia’s style of pulling guard, then passing or taking the back.”
“I fell in love with jiu-jitsu. As a wrestler, I never thought I’d say that.”
Pico’s willingness to work from bottom positions and even taking beginner level classes has given him a newfound respect for jiu-jitsu. “I know I’m nowhere near the brown or black belt levels.” Even so, he’s expressed a desire to compete in pure no-gi jiu-jitsu tournaments in the future. “I fell in love with jiu-jitsu. As a wrestler, I never thought I’d say that.”
The Alchemist and The Way of the Fight
Ever since Pico read The Alchemist, by Paul Coelho, he’s kept himself on one narrow track. He blocked out all distractions and kept himself under the thumb of family authority figures. “My mom talks about how ‘yes men’ will let you skip practice,” he says about his mom, Gina’s, blunt wisdom.
Continued
https://www.jiujitsutimes.com/aaron-pico-jiu-jitsu/
Some of Floyd's early fights were fun, his destruction of Hatton and gatti were beautiful
Cage warriors 85 is on bt sports 1 or zunok
Thanks for the post, love his attitude, seems extremely humble for a guy with his successIt's from June 21. Here's a good article about it.
Aaron Pico’s Crash Course in Jiu-Jitsu: ‘I got killed’, then addicted
Patrick DonabedianJune 22, 2017
Photo By: Michael Plaster
Add Aaron Pico to the long list of beginning jiu-jitsu practitioners to have uttered such humble words. Except most of us are not a 20-year-old white belt heading into our professional MMA debut at Madison Square Garden.
Most BJJ practitioners, including myself, are early-to-middle-aged men who love MMA and dream of our future sons becoming world champions. We imagine driving our prodigal 5 year old to his first jiu-jitsu lesson. Or should it be wrestling? Boxing? Kickboxing? Muay Thai? Or all at the same time?
How does one mold the perfect MMA Fighter?
To answer this I went straight to the source — Aaron Pico. Riding along on a training day, we covered boxing, strength & conditioning, jiu-jitsu, and about 150 miles of Southern California highway.
So for the benefit of both parents of future contenders and oddsmakers, what follows is a Friday Night quarterbacking of Pico’s lifelong preparation for his Bellator 180 lightweight debut against MMA veteran, Zach Freeman. Has Aaron Pico set the MMA blueprint or is he just another overhyped prospect?
Tracing Back to His Pankration Roots
Aaron Pico is perhaps the most experienced 0-0 fighter of all time. He started training in both wrestling and boxing before George St-Pierre ever stepped foot in the octagon.
“My Dad wanted me to ride motorcycles…but I said I like wrestling and boxing more.”
“My Dad wanted me to ride motorcycles…but I said I like wrestling and boxing more.” So while the rest of the kids took to the motocross trails and soccer fields, Pico doubled down on musty wrestling rooms and heavy bags hanging from garage ceilings.
Even more surprising is that Pico fought Pankration at the age of 8. “I remember going on Indian Reservations and fighting at 8 and 9 years old.” He and his father admit that it sounds brutal, but he promises his ambitions were strictly of a professional nature. “I haven’t been in a street fight since 4th grade. It’s scary.” He and his father, Anthony, would travel as far as Ukraine to compete in the European Championships for Pankration.
Junior Golden Gloves boxing and cadet wrestling tournaments soon made their way into the mix. Pico’s specialization in wrestling first paid off with a California state title in his freshman year at St. John Bosco.
Exiting after just one year to go pro on the international circuit, Pico elevated his game to more of a freestyle form. “Stylistically he was better suited [for the Olympics] than the other American competitors because he spent so much time overseas,” says Bob Cook, Pico’s manager and head cornerman.
Hurry Up and Wait…3 Years
Upon putting his hat in the MMA arena, Aaron and Anthony’s first decision was to enlist the services of the above mentioned Bob Cook under Zinkin Entertainment.
As soon as Scott Coker replaced Bjorn Rebney as president of Bellator, it was just a matter of time that Cook’s top young client would become Bellator’s top young prospect. “I’ve had a long history of developing fighters with Scott,” says Cook of the former Strikeforce president and stalwart of the San Jose MMA ecosystem.
Pico signed with Bellator in November 2014, immediately after reaching the legal age of 18. Numbers and contract terms were undisclosed, but rumors suggest that the highly lucrative deal included a regular salary.
With 14 years of amateur wrestling and boxing experience, Pico chose to coil the spring back a little bit further — by 2 years and 9 months to be precise. The Viacom-backed company would have to wait for a return on its investment.
Checking Off the Bucket List
As if multiple Pankration championships, Junior Golden Gloves boxing titles, and international wrestling championships were not enough, Pico had one bucket list item to check off before stepping into the cage — the Olympics. Bob Cook says Bellator was fully on board for this. “To medal in the Olympics is something I wanted to see him do…Bellator was just as supportive.”
Ultimately Pico fell short on a technicality in the final match while attempting to become the first teenager since 1976 to make the US Olympic team.
In summation, Pico’s 3 years leading up to his MMA debut has seen a runner-up bid for the US Olympic wrestling team, an additional 15 pounds of muscle, knee surgery, and now jiu-jitsu training to round out his wrestling and boxing pedigrees.
4 Months Equals 2,880 Hours
What can you say about a guy who’s trained jiu-jitsu for just four months and never donned the gi? Most would assume that submissions will take a backseat to wrestling and ground and pound on June 24th.
Being one of his training partners and a jiu-jitsu confidante, not much can be revealed here other than that Pico spent a large portion of his 2,880 hours training under the watchful eye of Eddie Bravo.
Their relationship began with a direct message from Pico to Joe Rogan on Twitter. “I’ve always known about Eddie Bravo. My dad and I were watching videos of him doing the Twister and talking to Rickson Gracie. I said, ‘Man, I want to go learn from that guy.”
“I’ve always known about Eddie Bravo. My dad and I were watching videos of him doing the Twister and talking to Rickson Gracie. I said, ‘Man, I want to go learn from that guy.”
Rogan immediately responded and hooked them up.
Aaron was already well aware of the controversies within the jiu jitsu community about gi versus no-gi. “I respect other philosophies, but I don’t think I need to be in a gi because I’m not going to be wearing it in MMA.”
Eddie Bravo’s MMA grappling philosophy goes even deeper. “The first things a kid should train are wrestling and striking. Maybe do jiu-jitsu on weekends. It’s easier to pick up later,” says the Tenth Planet founder.
“You don’t need explosion for all the killing techniques in jiu jitsu,” says Eddie Bravo, who believes that developing fast twitch muscles is most important during a child’s growing years. “For positional dominance and transitions [in jiu-jitsu] you need that athleticism, balance, posture, base, clinching wrapped up in a giant burrito of explosion.”Having lacked such a ‘burrito of explosion’ against so many wrestlers in his competition years, Bravo adapted his patented bottom clinching system, saying, “The tenth planet system is built for that. When you can’t wrestle as good as those guys, you better be able to finish from bottom or at least have Demian Maia’s style of pulling guard, then passing or taking the back.”
“I fell in love with jiu-jitsu. As a wrestler, I never thought I’d say that.”
Pico’s willingness to work from bottom positions and even taking beginner level classes has given him a newfound respect for jiu-jitsu. “I know I’m nowhere near the brown or black belt levels.” Even so, he’s expressed a desire to compete in pure no-gi jiu-jitsu tournaments in the future. “I fell in love with jiu-jitsu. As a wrestler, I never thought I’d say that.”
The Alchemist and The Way of the Fight
Ever since Pico read The Alchemist, by Paul Coelho, he’s kept himself on one narrow track. He blocked out all distractions and kept himself under the thumb of family authority figures. “My mom talks about how ‘yes men’ will let you skip practice,” he says about his mom, Gina’s, blunt wisdom.
Continued
Aaron Pico's Crash Course in Jiu-Jitsu: 'I got killed', then addicted
El chapo? never heard of that strain, another one added to the listGetting my shit together for bellator mma tonite
I got rockstar kush shatter and northern lights flower on the menu for tonight
Davis vs. Bader Prelims - MMA Live at Bellator - Bellator Livestream
Prelims start in a half hour, folks!
Prelims start in a half hour, folks!
Getting my shit together for bellator mma tonite
Gorilla glue #5 is by far my favorite sativa hybrid
Phenomenal strain
How much are the signed posters?
Prelimsa reli ve ... I don'tkn oww hat the hell is goingon with my pc but i have a lag from hlel
Nice finish in the main event of cage warriors to get a new champ
Now time for Belator!!!!
Now time for Belator!!!!