NEW YORK – Adam Borics isn’t afraid to admit he was peeved by the lack of attention he received going into his Bellator 222 fight with Aaron Pico.
After all, the Hard Knocks 365 competitor by way of Hungary won all 12 of his pro fights en route to Madison Square Garden, and earned victories via finish in all three of his previous Bellator bouts.
That’s a better track record than Pico, without so much as a fraction of the hype.
“He’s a nice guy, just everyone was talking about just him, no one was talking about just me,” Borics told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Friday night. “I was a little upset about it.”
If you didn’t know who Borics (13-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) was before, now what can he do? Borics finished Pico with a sensational flying knee at 3:55 of the second round in their featherweight preliminary matchup, stealing the spotlight from Pico in one of the world’s most famous venues.
“It’s awesome, man,” Borics said. “I’ve been waiting for this one in my life. I said the last time, fighting in the U.S., fighting in the Garden, it’s awesome.”
Pico, having suffered a knockout loss to Henry Corrales last time out in January, seemed intent on going back to his wrestling roots. But Borics expected this and made it a part of his gameplan to conserve energy and strike when the time was right while Pico tired himself out on top.
“He’s a world champion in wrestling, so he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world,” Borics said. “And I wanted to save my energy. So when he took me down, I thought he was breathing so hard, you know? And he was squeezing like crazy. I was just like, just save my energy. I listened to my coach, Greg Jones. He said don’t lose your wrist and be on the top. And i just followed him.”
This is the second time Borics has won a Bellator bout via flying knee. The fighter nicknamed “The Kid,” who will returned home to Hungary on Saturday to renew his visa before coming back to South Florida to resume training, joked his nickname should change to “The Flying Kid.”
“The flying knee is my favorite. Maybe I am the flying kid, I don’t know,” Borics said. “I am the most hard worker on the planet. Nobody trains harder than me. I move two years ago from Hungary, and I train every day like it was a training camp.”
For more on Bellator 222, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
