UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Aaron Pico is ready take on top contenders again, and Bellator president Scott Coker finds it hard to disagree with him.

Pico (8-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) notched his fourth consecutive win when he submitted Aiden Lee in the third round Friday at Bellator 260, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Jackson Wink MMA fighter, who had his momentum halted early in his career, has come into his own, displaying a dominant and well rounded game against Lee, which had Coker in awe.

“From what I saw tonight, to me, he was the star of the night,” Coker told reporters at the Bellator 260 post-fight news conference. “Because his improvement of his complete game, and we’re talking left, right, body shot, takedown, his transitions were amazing.

“So I saw a lot of combinations I haven’t seen before with Aaron, and I think his level of improvement has gone up drastically, so we’ll have a conversation with his management and his coach and see what they’re thinking, but he looked amazing tonight. The guy he was fighting was no joke, so he was impressive.”

With Bellator 260 being Pico’s first fight of the year, Coker is looking to ramp up his activity. The 24-year-old is targeting the division’s best, and Coker thinks it’s likely he will get a major step up in competition by the end of the year.

“What I saw tonight was spectacular and tremendous growth from where I saw him fight last time,” Coker said. “I think he’s more on the program of what we’re looking for now, and the frequency of which we’ll fight him will be more than we did before, and I think by the end of the year, he’ll be right back up there to where he could start fighting top guys again.”