At Bellator 186 on Friday, Zach Freeman was looking to prove he was ready for more after his upset of Aron Pico back in June.
Bellator 186 went down live Friday from the Bryce Jordan Center, on campus at Penn State in University Park, PA. The card brought along a handful of PSU alums, and two title fights. Earlier on the main card, however, Bellator MMA stalwart and former tournament finalist Saad Awad faced the man who shocked Aron Pico earlier this year, Zach Freeman. The lightweight contest opened the main card, which aired live on Spike TV.
Freeman proved he was no pushover when he finished Pico in the first round of their contest at Bellator NYC. Now, the “Altar Boy” was looking to prove that he was no fluke. Awad, meanwhile, was looking to build off a win over Ryan Quinn his last time out at Bellator 178.
Awad started working his kicks early, going to the leg of Freeman, then missing with a front kick to the body. Not allowing that to go unanswered, Freeman returned a kick to the leg of his own, but on the first exchange, “The Altar Boy” was caught on the side of the head by an Awad right hand. That wobbled him, and down he went. He’d blindly shoot for the legs to recover, but Awad backed off to allow the ref to see Freeman wasn’t exactly intelligently defending himself. With that, the fight was waved off, with Awad scoring the quick victory.
Saad Awad def. Zach Freeman by TKO, Round 1, 1:07
