LONG BEACH, Calif. – [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] wanted to continue, but the cageside doctor wouldn’t let him.
Pico’s shoulder appeared to dislocate his shoulder during his fight [autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag] on Saturday night at Bellator 286. And just like that, after five minutes, the fight was over, with Kennedy awarded a first-round doctor-stoppage TKO at Long Beach Arena.
After the bell rang, Pico did what he could to fight on. First, his team immediately began working on his left shoulder, trying to pop it back into place. For a moment, it looked like they succeeded as the referee asked Pico to get into his fighter stance. But then the cageside doctor was called in to examine, and Pico tried to show he had proper motion in his shoulder. After a couple minutes of trying to convince them he could continue, the referee waved it off on the advice of the doctor.
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Afterward, Kennedy (18-3 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) wanted to make it clear that he was better than Pico (10-4 MMA, 10-4 BMMA) during their time in the cage.
“No, I hit him with a left hook on his way in, and we got into grappling exchanges,” Kennedy said. “I know his wrestling pedigree. From a lot of those mat returns, they were kind of feeling easier and easier as the round came on. I respect Pico. I knew maybe something is going on. But I was just going for the kill the whole time, hunting that choke. That’s my position. I get your back. When you’re trying to get up on the cage, I’m going to mat return you and maul you.”
It was an unfortunate end to Pico’s Southern California homecoming fight as the result snapped a six-fight winning streak. Kennedy now has won two fights in a row.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 286 results include:
- Jeremy Kennedy def. Aaron Pico via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 5:00
- Juan Archuleta def. Enrique Barzola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bobby Seronio III def. Miguel Peimbert via unanimous decision (30-27, 20-37, 30- 27)
- Islam Mamedov def. Nick Browne via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jay Jay Wilson def. Vladimir Tokov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Khalid Murtazaliev def. Khadzhimurat Bestaev via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:02
- Sumiko Inaba def. Nadine Mandiau via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 20-37)
- Weber Almeida def. Ryan Lilley via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Lance Gibson Jr. def. Dominic Clark via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:49
- Cee Jay Hamilton def. Richard Palencia via TKO (injury) – Round 2, 0:12
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 286.
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