Ex-Jackson Wink GM details Aaron Pico's brutal sparring reputation and Morocco training

Former Jackson Wink general manager Mikhail Lyubimov described Aaron Pico as one of the most physically destructive sparring partners he had ever witnessed, with training partners leaving the gym with broken ribs, orbital fractures, and knockouts that ended careers. One trainer still has a permanent indentation in his orbital bone after Pico struck him during a session. Pico's difficulty finding willing sparring partners in the United States eventually led him to train in Morocco, where he was provided world-class partners and lavish accommodations funded by the king, with Greg Jackson acknowledging he could not compete with that offer. Lyubimov noted that Pico is a genuinely warm person outside of the gym despite his fearsome reputation inside it.