A featherweight matchup between Aaron Pico and Jeremy Kennedy at Bellator 286 ended in disappointment when Pico injured his shoulder in the opening round.
Arguably the most hyped prospect in the history of MMA, Pico carried a 6-fight win streak into this bout with UFC veteran Jeremy Kennedy. There was a good chance that Bellator may have placed Pico next in line for a chance at the featherweight title with a win, but the 26-year-old’s hopes of a victory were dashed by a nasty shoulder injury.
Pico could be seen attempting to pop the shoulder back into place before being taken down by Kennedy just minutes into the opening round.
Things only got crazier in between rounds as Pico’s coach Brandon Gibson desperately attempted to yank the shoulder back into place, and the activity no doubt attracted the attention of the ringside doctor.
Pico made every effort to convince the doctor he could continue fighting, but the 26-year-old was unable to even raise his arm above his head and the bout was waved off in between rounds.
MMA Twitter Reacts To Pico’s Injury
MMA fans are no strangers to nasty injuries, but the visual of Pico’s shoulder and the efforts to fix it drew a range of reactions from the MMA community.
The loss via injury likely won’t hurt his stock at all, but Pico will be surely be frustrated at having the longest winning streak of his career snapped due to something out of his control.
MMA News has all of the results and highlights from Bellator 286.