Aaron Pico entered Bellator 286 poised to compete for the featherweight title. When the ringside doctor stopped the bout due to what appeared to be a shoulder injury, Pico lost to Jeremy Kennedy rather than earning the biggest victory of his career.
Early in the first round, the two combatants traded blows before getting into a grapple. It soon became clear that Pico had hurt his left arm.
Pico, a well-known amateur wrestler, appeared to lose his left arm’s entire use right away. Kennedy was able to control the situation on the ground and during the grappling matches because to the injury. Pico survived the round despite appearing to be in trouble.
Pico’s corner, though, seized his arm and jerked and yanked it in an apparent attempt to snap his shoulder back into place as soon as the first round was over.
Prior to the start of Round 2, the referee requested that the ringside doctor examine Pico. At that time, the doctor said that he thought Pico had broken his collarbone.
Pico hurried back to the training area before leaving for the hospital. Pico’s six-fight winning streak—five of which were by way of finish—was broken with the defeat. Before losing his first fight and then suffering back-to-back knockout losses in his sixth and seventh career fights, he was once regarded as the best prospect to ever enter the sport of mixed martial arts.
Kennedy is now 3-1 in the Bellator cage after two straight victories. He had a 3-1 record in the Octagon when he left the UFC in 2018. Since then, he has gone 5-1 and is establishing himself as a contender for the 145-pound Bellator championship.