Bellator 277: Jeremy Kennedy forced out of Aaron Pico fight on April 15

Bellator MMA’s next event has suffered a major blow after Jeremy Kennedy was forced to bow out of his scheduled Featherweight scrap against Aaron Pico, which was set to go down on the main card of Bellator 277 on Friday, April 15, 2022, in San Jose, California.

That’s according to a report from MMA Junkie, which also revealed the promotion is hoping to find a late replacement to step in to face Pico, who is currently enjoying a nice five-fight win streak and is ranked No. 4 spot on the official Bellator rankings.

Kennedy (No. 7), meanwhile, was looking to build off the momentum following his huge win over Emmanuel Sanchez, which went down at Bellator 272 in Dec. 2021. Prior to that, Kennedy suffered a loss to top-ranked Mads Burnell, his first loss in three years.

Bellator 277 is set to be headlined by a 145-pound championship rematch as A.J. McKee battles Patricio Freire eight months removed from his stunning victory over “Pitbull” at Bellator 263 to not only win the strap, but the Featherweight Grand Prix tournament.

In the co-main event, current 205-pound champion Vadim Nemkov will defend his belt against Corey Anderson in the finals of the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament, while Timothy Johnson battles Linton Vassell in the opening fight of the main card.

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