Shane Kruchten is ready for whatever comes against Aaron Pico at Bellator 192 on Saturday.
Top prospect Aaron Pico returns to action once again on Saturday, and opposite him for his third professional bout will be Shane Kruchten. The 10th Planet San Diego fighter will hold the vast edge in experience, with a 12-3 record and having fought since 2007. Needless to say, Kruchten is confident heading into Saturday’s bout, which is expected to be the second on the main card of Bellator 192, airing live on the Paramount Network.
Kruchten spoke to Cageside Press about his big fight at Bellator 192’s open workouts on Wednesday.
On the threat Pico poses, Kruchten said that “he’s got great wrestling and great striking, but he’s also tiny compared to me. We’ll see how it works, and I think my jiu-jitsu will definitely go superior to his wrestling.”
Kruchten went on to tell Cageside’s Gabriel Gonzalez that he’s been training with “Boogie Man Martinez, the Freak brothers down in San Diego, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, the world champion from Bellator, Liz Carmouche, it was all 10th Planet San Diego in my team.” And as such, he’s well-prepared for the bout against Pico.
Perhaps dissimilar to Kruchten’s past opponents, there’s really not much tape on Pico. With only two professional fights, neither of which were very long, does predicting what the younger fighter might do pose a challenge? “I’ve never concerned myself with any of that in any fight, so I’m ready for whatever comes” ‘The War Rhino’ said. “I have my hopes, my wants, my wishes, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I can adapt very well.”
Kruchten, who’s picking Rampage Jackson to “knock Chael Sonnen’s head off” in the main event, is absolutely thrilled to be part of such a huge card. “This is my first time on a huge main card, and high on the main card, it’s huge.”
So what’s the San Diego fighter’s prediction for the bout? “D’arce all the way. I’m gonna D’arce him.”
Aaron Pico vs. Shane Kruchten airs live on The Paramount Network on Saturday, January 20 from The Forum in Los Angeles, CA. Catch our full chat with Shane below!
