Aaron Pico: Khamzat Chimaev was ‘motivating’ factor in career-best UFC 327 performance

Aaron Pico and Khamzat Chimaev

Aaron Pico can finally lay claim to a UFC win and he points to one of the promotion’s best as inspiration.

In the lead-up to his highly anticipated duel with fellow former Bellator star Patricio Pitbull at UFC 327, Pico brought in a number of notable names to prepare for the fight, including UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. Pico went on to deliver a virtuoso performance against Pitbull to score his first octagon victory and afterwards, he credited Chimaev with helping him take his game to the next level.

“I think Khamzat’s going to win [at UFC 328] and I’m rooting for him,” Pico said speaking to the media backstage at UFC 327. “One thing I like being around Khamzat is he’s just a guy that works hard. He just goes and does his job. He loves what he does, he’s very intense when he does his workouts. When I’m in there with him, we’re pushing each other, but also, I’ve said it time and time again, he’s a very humble guy.

“He’s got a professional team and before I left to this fight I said, ‘Hey Khamzat, can you show me a few positions? I want to ask you what you do from here,’ and he was really happy to show me and yeah, just a great guy, really cool, and his whole team is just awesome. So it’s motivating to be around him.”

The undefeated Chimaev goes for his first defense of the middleweight title when he fights former champion Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 328 on May 9 in Newark, N.J. Chimaev claimed the belt with a dominant five-round win over Dricus du Plessis, though the performance was criticized for being dull after Chimaev used his wrestling to completely neutralize du Plessis.

Pico’s win over Pitbull was considerably more entertaining, but Pico insisted that only thought he and his team had in mind was to win, whether it pleased the crowd or not.

“Of course, I still have that dog in me, but I want to keep him locked up unless one day, maybe the fifth round where I say I gotta go, I gotta throw,” Pico said. “But if I’m winning a fight and I took him down and I’m landing my shots, why do I have to get a knockout? The knockout will come.

“So that’s been the whole approach this fight camp is just let it come. In sparring, if I got two takedowns, Coach Roberto would say you’re winning the round, use your jab, stick and move. How I sparred is exactly how I fought tonight and I’m happy, honestly.”

Saturday marked just the second time in Pico’s 19-fight career that he’s gone to the scorecards. However, it wasn’t for lack of trying as he landed several impactful punches that would have felled many other featherweights.

In the end, it was to Pico’s benefit as he was able to show off his complete repertoire and close the chapter on the Bellator rivalry that never was.

“I just wanted a clean fight,” Pico said. “I really just wanted to go out there and show all my skills. I knew I could take him down, I knew I can box with him, and I showed that tonight. One thing Coach Greg always says, ‘No emotional value on anything.’ I don’t need to put emotional value on ‘I have to take him down, I have to prove him wrong.’ I have to just focus on myself and focus on my skills and if I do that I’ll win and I clearly did that tonight.”