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UFC simulation vs. the market Bout Simulator
Featherweight

Aaron Pico

14-5-0 UFC 2-1-0
Striker Hard To Take Down Suspect Chin
5'8"Height
70"Reach
OrthodoxStance
30Age
1KO wins
0Sub wins
50.0%Finish rate
6:31Avg fight

Skill profile

Rated 0–100 · where 138 MMA has read him, his grades and tags set each axis and the stats only nudge inside his band · stats alone where he is silent · the rim is reserved for specialists
Striking — Above avg, rated 80 of 100 · 138 MMA: striking solid · Oct 2026 · stats read 53 → nudged -6 inside the band · tag ko power: good (+3) · claims striking power +2, striking volume -1, striking technique +1, pressure +2 (+6) Accuracy — Average, rated 55 of 100 · claims striking technique +1 (+2) Striking D — Below avg, rated 38 of 100 · claims striking defense -1, head movement +1 (-2) Durability — Below avg, rated 27 of 100 · 138 MMA tag chin: suspect · Oct 2026 · stats read 25 → nudged -3 inside the band · claims chin -2 (-4) Wrestling — Average, rated 57 of 100 · claims td offense +2 (+4) TD Defense — Above avg, rated 73 of 100 · 138 MMA tag td defense: good · Apr 2026 · stats read 53 → nudged -3 inside the band · claims td defense +1 (+2) Grappling — Average, rated 49 of 100 · 138 MMA: grappling good · Oct 2026 · stats read 32 → nudged -9 inside the band · claims ground and pound +1 (+1) Control — Average, rated 63 of 100 · claims top control +2, ground and pound +1 (+10) Striking Accuracy Striking D Durability Wrestling TD Defense Grappling Control
striking solid
3 analyst reads graded this phase
  • solid UFC 333 Full Card Preview & Predictions · October 17, 2026 watch ↗
  • solid UFC 327 Full Card Preview & Predictions · April 5, 2026 watch ↗
  • solid UFC 319 Full Card Analysis, Prediction & Breakdown · August 13, 2025 watch ↗
grappling good
3 analyst reads graded this phase
  • good UFC 333 Full Card Preview & Predictions · October 17, 2026 watch ↗
  • good UFC 327 Full Card Preview & Predictions · April 5, 2026 watch ↗
  • good UFC 319 Full Card Analysis, Prediction & Breakdown · August 13, 2025 watch ↗
wrestling not yet read
cardio not yet read
durability not yet read
striking solid 3 reads
grappling good 3 reads
wrestling not yet read
cardio not yet read
durability not yet read

138 MMA anchors Striking, Durability, TD Defense, Grappling · his tags and claims adjust Accuracy, Striking D, Wrestling, Control.

Built on 19 minutes of tracked cage time across 3 statted fights — every axis is held down until there is more tape, so read this as a sketch rather than a verdict.

Striker above avg striking — rates 80 of 100 · 138 MMA: striking solid · Oct 2026
Hard To Take Down above avg td defense — rates 73 of 100 · 138 MMA tag td defense: good · Apr 2026
Suspect Chin 138 MMA · Oct 2026 tags chin: suspect
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Sig. strikes landed / min6.08
Sig. strikes absorbed / min3.01
Striking accuracy54.1%
Striking defense45.4%
Knockdowns / 15 min0.77
Takedowns / 15 min6.89
Takedown accuracy50.0%
Takedown defense—
Sub attempts / 15 min0.0
Control time30.9%
Record vs .500+ opponents0-1

Insider info

3 analyst reads · 138 MMA · our paraphrase, never his words
vs Losene Keita clear UFC 333 Full Card Preview & Predictions · October 17, 2026
strikingsolid grapplinggood

"The better fighter everywhere" -- an unhedged skills case. The wager-caution that follows (avoiding bets on Pico given the knockout risk) is explicit price/risk language, kept separate from the analytical confidence.

Technically sharp striker -- strong boxing fundamentals, accuracy, body work and head movement, plus real power -- though he occasionally falls into swinging power shots, and that is usually when he gets caught. Good grappler too: a solid takedown arsenal, an excellent double leg, reliable takedown defense, and a strong top-pressure finishing game on the mat. The analyst calls him the more skilled fighter in every area, but flags a genuine durability concern -- his career losses have all come by knockout -- enough to keep him off betting the fight despite picking him to win.

Strengthsharp boxing with real forward pressure
Strengthaccurate, works the body, moves his head well
Strengthexcellent double leg entry and reliable takedown defense
Strengthstrong top-pressure finishing on the mat
Weaknesssometimes falls into swinging power shots, which is when he gets caught
Weaknessdurability is inconsistent -- fine at times, not at all other times; his losses have been by knockout
chin · suspect
vs Patricio Pitbull lean UFC 327 Full Card Preview & Predictions · April 5, 2026 · 1 read since
strikingsolid grapplinggood

explicitly says he could be wrong

A solid striker with good forward pressure, accuracy, body shots, power, and head movement, but with a real tendency to abandon his combinations and start winging power shots when he is chasing a knockout, called the one drawback of his game. A good grappler too, with a good double leg, present takedown defense, ground-and-pound, and top pressure. Expected to be drawn into exactly that power-shot trap by the opponent's frustrating pace.

Strengthgood forward pressure and accuracy
Strengthbeautiful body shots
Strengthpower
Strengthgood head movement
Strengthgood double leg takedown
Strengthground-and-pound and top pressure
Weaknessabandons combinations and starts winging power shots when seeking the knockout
td defense · good
vs Lerone Murphy lean UFC 319 Full Card Analysis, Prediction & Breakdown · August 13, 2025 · 2 reads since
strikingsolid grapplinggood

picks Murphy on the undefeated-veteran-over-debutant value but closes 'it could go either way'

Stepping into the promotion for the first time against a man who has never lost -- matchmaking the analyst thinks was unkind to him. His hitting power is rated highly, with forward movement, accurate shots, effective body work and sharp head movement, though he can get fixated on landing one big shot at the expense of his output. His wrestling pedigree shows up clearly: effective entries including a strong double-leg, dependable defense against being taken down, and heavy top pressure with ground strikes, which the analyst believes could set up his hands if used early.

Strengthhits hard
Strengthgood forward pressure
Strengthplenty of accuracy
Strengthworks the body well
Strengthgood head movement
Strengthgood takedowns, solid double leg
Strengthsolid takedown defense
Strengthgood ground and pound/top pressure
Weaknesssometimes over-hunts the power shot and falls into a single-shot style, costing volume
ko power · goodtd defense · good

Striking trend

Sig. strikes/min, last 3 fights · green = win
August 16, 2025 vs Lerone Murphy — 3.88/min (L) — only 3.4 min of tape, so this rate reflects how fast the fight ended more than how he fought Aug '25 April 11, 2026 vs Patricio Freire — 6.67/min (W) Apr '26 October 24, 2026 vs Losene Keita — 4.86/min (W) — only 1.2 min of tape, so this rate reflects how fast the fight ended more than how he fought Oct '26

Fight history

3 UFC bouts · newest first · opponent records as of fight night
W Losene Keita 16-2 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 1:14 — UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev · October 24, 2026
6/10Sig. strikes
2/4Absorbed
1/2Takedowns
0:37Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Patricio Freire 37-8 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 327: Prochazka vs. Ulberg · April 11, 2026
100/181Sig. strikes
49/88Absorbed
6/13Takedowns
3:25Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Lerone Murphy 16-0-1 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 3:21 — UFC 319: Du Plessis vs. Chimaev · August 16, 2025
13/29Sig. strikes
8/16Absorbed
2/3Takedowns
2:01Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts

Walk-in records count UFC bouts in this database. For the pre-UFC career, see the record breakdown below or the Tapology button up top.

Record breakdown

Full pro career (Wikipedia, results only)
14-5-0Pro record
American Kickboxing Academy (2014–2017), The Body Shop MMA (2017–2019)Gym / team

Wins by method

KO/TKO 9
Submission 2
Decision 3
Other 0

Losses by method

KO/TKO 4
Submission 1
Decision 0
Other 0

Fights by organization

Bellator 16
UFC 2
PFL vs. Bellator 1
Full career — 19 fights, every organization
OpponentMethodEventOrg RdTime
W Patrício Pitbull Decision (unanimous) UFC 327
April 11, 2026
UFC 3 5:00
L Lerone Murphy KO (spinning back elbow) UFC 319
August 16, 2025
UFC 1 3:21
W Henry Corrales TKO (punches) PFL vs. Bellator
February 24, 2024
PFL vs. Bellator 1 4:53
W Pedro Carvalho TKO (punches) Bellator 299
September 23, 2023
Bellator 1 3:05
W James Gonzalez Decision (unanimous) Bellator 295
April 22, 2023
Bellator 3 5:00
L Jeremy Kennedy TKO (shoulder injury) Bellator 286
October 1, 2022
Bellator 1 5:00
W Adli Edwards TKO (punches) Bellator 277
April 15, 2022
Bellator 3 0:55
W Justin Gonzales Decision (unanimous) Bellator 271
November 12, 2021
Bellator 3 5:00
W Aiden Lee Submission (anaconda choke) Bellator 260
June 11, 2021
Bellator 3 1:33
W John de Jesus KO (punch) Bellator 252
November 12, 2020
Bellator 2 4:12
W Chris Hatley Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 242
July 24, 2020
Bellator 1 2:10
W Daniel Carey KO (punch) Bellator 238
January 25, 2020
Bellator 2 0:15
L Ádám Borics TKO (flying knee and punches) Bellator 222
June 14, 2019
Bellator 2 3:55
L Henry Corrales KO (punches) Bellator 214
January 26, 2019
Bellator 1 1:07
W Leandro Higo TKO (punches) Bellator 206
September 29, 2018
Bellator 1 3:19
W Lee Morrison TKO (punches) Bellator 199
May 12, 2018
Bellator 1 1:10
W Shane Kruchten KO (punch to the body) Bellator 192
January 20, 2018
Bellator 1 0:37
W Justin Linn KO (punch) Bellator 183
September 24, 2017
Bellator 1 3:45
L Zach Freeman Submission (guillotine choke) Bellator 180
June 24, 2017
Bellator 1 0:24

Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Aaron Pico) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.

Division context

vs. 134 qualified Featherweight fighters · tick = division mean
Striking volume /min 6.1 avg 3.6
Strikes absorbed /min 3.0 avg 3.6
Striking accuracy 54.1% avg 45.0%
Striking defense 45.4% avg 55.3%
Takedowns /15 min 6.9 avg 1.5
Takedown accuracy 50.0% avg 37.4%
Sub attempts /15 min 0.0 avg 0.6
Control time 30.9% avg 20.1%
Finish rate 50.0% avg 44.2%

Hero photo of Aaron Pico by WrestlingSavesLives · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons