Saturday night at Bellator NYC inside New York City's famed Madison Square Garden was a moment years in the making for Aaron Pico.

The California-based wunderkind who had already cemented a legacy on wrestling mats around the globe and built a strong collection of accolades in Golden Gloves was set to make his highly anticipated mixed martial arts debut.
 
Every major outlet in the sport had given the 20-year-old talent solid coverage in the lead-up, with mainstream outlets such as ESPN even getting in on the buzz surrounding the kid Bellator had signed back in 2014 to a developmental deal just to make sure they were ahead of the game.


 
With all the energy pumping around Pico's name, it seemed all but given he would step into the cage and dismantle a relatively unknown opponent in Zach Freeman. Forget that the Missouri native had won all but two of his 10 professional bouts and had competed for a title in a smaller promotion. None of that mattered because Freeman was just supposed to be the one name in a pile of other names who actually stepped up to take the fight. And if all went as figured, Freeman would become the first step--a footnote of sorts--in a long and glorious journey for Pico. 
 
And all that seemed to be happening until it wasn't, and the dose of reality that had somehow gone missing throughout the lead-up was provided by none other than Freeman himself.
 
A stunned Pico was left lying dazed on the canvas while the crowd at Madison Square Garden and thousands at home reflected that sentiment. As Freeman jumped around the cage and celebrated, we were all reminded just how uncertain the majority of things in the fight game can be, especially when things like hype and expectation are cranked up around an athlete.
 
Yet, this isn't a story of a prospect derailed, although that chapter has certainly been added to the larger narrative around Pico in the here and now. Instead, looking back two days after his disastrous debut in New York City, Pico's story has already swung back around to expectation, and the young fighter accomplished this feat without ever landing a clean punch.


Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports 

One noticeable aspect about Pico in the lead-up was his poise and the way he appeared to be handling the moment. Years of being one of the biggest things running in the wrestling world forged his media savvy, and those skills were certainly put on display during the fight week media grind in the days building toward his debut.
 
Furthermore, in the hours following his loss to Freeman at Bellator NYC, Pico's ability to grab the reins and face the music allowed the Bob Cook-trained fighter to drive the focus back toward the positive.
 
Stardom isn't an easy weight to carry in any sport, but MMA seems to possess the sharpest of double edges. When a fighter becomes popular, masses of fans tune in hoping to see yet another brilliant performance, while the rest dial up the fight hoping to see that same athlete brutally and violently unseated from his or her pedestal.


Nov 15, 2015; Melbourne, Australia; Ronda Rousey (red gloves) receives attention after being defeated by Holly Holm (not pictured) during UFC 193 at Etihad Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Recent years have given fight fans two polarizing examples in Irish phenom Conor McGregor and former bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, the two-time ESPY winner for Female Athlete of the Year and the person responsible for bringing the women's MMA to the UFC.

Both fighters rose to incredible heights before suffering high-profile setbacks inside the Octagon, yet their respective paths following said losses could not have been more different.
 
After Rousey was drubbed and laid out stiff by a left high kick from challenger Holly Holm in Australia at UFC 193, the cannibals gathered with sharpened instruments and prepared to eat their own fallen star. Yet, with Rousey's long history of special treatment from the UFC, she wasn't forced to face the media or the backlash for anything done in the aftermath of the first loss of her professional career.
 
The suddenly embattled star went into hiding and covered her face so cameras could see neither the damage nor her inability to handle the moment. Keep in mind, these were the same cameras used to bring waves of adoration and to propel her to mainstream stardom, but in the midst of choppy waters, Rousey couldn't find the fortitude to address the loss suffered against a very capable opponent in Holm.
 
McGregor chose to take a much different approach, and it made all the difference.


March 5, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Conor McGregor reacts following his loss against Nate Diaz during UFC 196 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports 

Immediately following his submission loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196, McGregor went back to the locker room, washed off the blood and sweat, suited up to the nines, and sat down to face the media. The SBG Ireland leader showed class and humility in defeat and gave credit to his opponent for being the better man on that night. By all measures, nothing McGregor said was groundbreaking or all too revealing, but the magic of "Mystic Mac" is to make whatever he says feel as if no human being has ever said those things before.

But sitting in front of the cameras and microphones that night in Las Vegas, he added a touch of grace that had yet to be seen during his rise to stardom.
 
No sooner was the press conference over  did positive swells of feedback come rolling in for McGregor, which only served to further highlight just how poorly Rousey handled her toughest moment.
 
On Saturday, after a devastating first-round submission loss on the night he was meant to be coronated as a young king, Pico showed incredible substance with the way he handled a situation in which the worst-case scenario unfolded in the form of a physical mauling.
 
Sitting on the dais alongside legendary names such as Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen, Pico ran from nothing in regard to his loss and performance. He made no excuses about the defeat, even when lifelines were thrown by the media regarding facing a fighter like Freeman, who had a record those same people had willingly overlooked in light of Pico's potential.
 
Instead, Pico doubled down on what he'd been saying the entire time. It wasn't an accident he wound up in the cage for his debut standing opposite a tough fighter with solid experience. That's the way he and his team wanted it. Pico didn't have any interest in taking warm-up or tune-up fights because he wanted to challenge himself at a level he felt was truly dangerous.
 
That certainly was the case, and it turned out to be deeper waters than he was capable of swimming out of at this stage of his career.
 
Pico took the defeat on his shoulders, and it showed more than what his poor performance inside the cage was able to showcase that night. It showed the kid is for real in a lot of different ways beyond his talent as a fighter, and his humility and his ability to face the heaviest of setbacks signal to him being a special type of athlete and competitor.
 
Granted, because of the loss in his debut, Pico has a huge hole to dig himself out of and plenty of eyes locked on him as he attempts to do so in the coming months. First impressions are crucial in the fight game, and Pico stumbled, tripped, and got steamrolled on his walk out to meet the sport he plans to champion in the coming years.

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/dc_mma/status/878812988878110721" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
 
Yet, what he was able to accomplish on Saturday night was the elevation of his character to which his athletic skills are built upon, and his poise in the toughest of moments not only calmed down the rabid masses but also will provide threads of positivity as he attempts to work himself back to another fight.
 
While it wasn't the win Pico went looking for at Bellator NYC, it's a win nonetheless. On a night when the fight game as a whole was ready to bury him where he lay on the Madison Square Garden canvas, Pico gave us all a reason to take another look at him.
 
And even though first impressions are crucial in the fight game, we are also a sport that sure enough loves second chances. It's crazy to think a 20-year-old kid would already be building his comeback story, but that's the power of serious hype when a buzz gets to building.
 
Pico may have lost some volume on the hype surrounding him, but he'll still have our attention when it's time to step back into the cage. What the suddenly embattled sensation manages to do with it will once again be squarely on his own shoulders. And that's what this fight game is all about.

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