Aaron Pico to Debut in the UFC Against Lerone Murphy
Aaron Pico’s highly anticipated UFC debut will take place against Lerone Murphy at the UFC 319 event, which will be held in Chicago, as announced by the promotion on Saturday.
Pico (13-4) was scheduled for his first UFC appearance against Movsar Evloev, but Evloev had to withdraw earlier this month. Pico, who excelled for a long time in Bellator MMA, publicly requested the UFC to schedule him a new fight as soon as possible. His 145-pound bout against Murphy (16-0-1) will be the co-main event of UFC 319 on August 16 in Chicago.
This change represents an interesting modification for the entire featherweight division. Pico, although he didn’t win any championship in Bellator, has long been considered one of the best fighters in the world outside the UFC. At 28 years old, he was considered at the time as one of the most promising prospects in the history of MMA, with important achievements in amateur wrestling and boxing.
Originally, Pico would face Evloev, the number one contender in the division. Now, he will focus his attention on Murphy, who remains undefeated but is ranked lower than Evloev.
The current featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, does not yet have his next title defense scheduled.
