Aaron Pico is set to return to competitive wrestling attire as the renowned UFC fighter is slated to participate under the Real American Freestyle promotion, facing a past champion from the PFL. This previous multiple-time title holder within the PFL’s intelligent cage is Lance Palmer, also known for being a former All-American at Ohio State University, with their wrestling bout against Pico scheduled for RAF 10 in St. Louis on the 13th of June.
Prior to his transition into mixed martial arts, Pico distinguished himself as an exceptional American wrestling talent, narrowly missing the opportunity to represent the United States at the 2016 Olympics by just one win. The athlete, previously associated with Bellator MMA, aims to build continuous success across varied competitive fields following his recent inaugural victory within the UFC. This achievement occurred at UFC 327, where Pico faced Patricio Pitbull, another former Bellator MMA associate and a multi-division Bellator champion, with Pico emerging victorious over Pitbull through a unanimous decision.
This result significantly propelled Aaron Pico back to winning ways following his crushing knockout defeat during his UFC inaugural bout against Lerone Murphy last August. Pico is slated to make his first appearance under the Real American Freestyle banner during the upcoming summer season. In contrast, Palmer has already participated in several wrestling competitions within RAF, notably featuring a contest against elite UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan, which resulted in a defeat against the prominent UFC fighter.
Much like Pico, Palmer is also seeking to accumulate consecutive victories. Palmer secured his initial triumph in Real American Freestyle subsequent to experiencing a two-match losing streak within the professional wrestling circuit, by achieving a victory at RAF 8 earlier in the current month.
Aaron Pico had the perception that his “position was at stake” leading up to his confrontation at UFC 327
Currently, Aaron Pico holds an even win-loss record within the UFC, yet he harbored a distinct feeling prior to the contest that he was competing to retain his place on the official roster. Pico conveyed this sentiment during a post-fight discussion with MMA Fighting, where he articulated [as reported by MMA Fighting],
“For sure, it was a must [win]. My job was on the line. That’s the way I felt. I try not to think about it too much. Of course, I had my days where it was very difficult for me. Like I always say, I’m human, so you sometimes tend to overthink. Sometimes I think that’s my problem.”
“I need to just live a little bit more and not overthink. But yeah, it’s a scary thought knowing that hey, if you drop this match, you may be cut. You never know. That was never said to me, so I was just speculating. Maybe I didn’t need to do that, but yeah, I needed to win. That’s just bottom line.”
