Once touted as the best prospect in MMA history, it’s back to the drawing board — again — for Bellator featherweight Aaron Pico. 

The 22-year-old Pico suffered his second straight knockout defeat and fell to 4-3 as a professional on Friday when he was stopped by unbeaten Adam Borics at Bellator 222 inside New York’s Madison Square Garden. 

In the same building as the shocking, 24-second submission loss he suffered in his pro debut in 2017, Pico dominated the majority of the fight with his wrestling until a flying left knee from Borics (13-0) knocked him out at 3:55 of Round 2. 

The fight was supposed to be a shot at redemption for Pico, a Whittier, California native, who was knocked out cold by Henry Corrales in January after dominating the fight early. Pico moved his training camp to New Mexico under the tutelage of new trainer Greg Jackson and showed a recommitment to his wrestling against Borics by landing a pair of impressive slams in the opening round. 

Pico had gotten himself in trouble in recent bouts by relying too much on his boxing and becoming a reckless slugger. This time, his focus was almost exclusively on securing takedowns and controlling his opponent on the ground, almost to the detriment of his stand-up game. 

Borics, a native of Hungary who improved to 4-0 under the Bellator banner, turned out to be a questionable matchmaking choice considering Pico’s push toward reinvention coming off of such a disastrous knockout loss in his last outing. Borics lived up to his billing by staying poised throughout and waiting for his moment to strike. 

A childhood prodigy in both wrestling and boxing, Pico signed a Bellator contract while still in high school and was financially supported by the promotion until his pro debut at age 20.