Aaron Pico Debuts in the UFC Against Lerone Murphy in Chicago
Aaron Pico’s highly anticipated UFC debut will take place against Lerone Murphy at the UFC 319 event, which will be held in Chicago. The promotion announced this on Saturday.
Pico, with a record of 13-4, was initially scheduled to face Movsar Evloev at a UFC Fight Night event. However, Evloev was forced to withdraw earlier this month. Following this situation, Pico publicly requested that the UFC schedule him a new fight as soon as possible. The 145-pound matchup against Murphy (16-0-1) will be the co-main event of UFC 319, on August 16 in Chicago.
This change represents an interesting turn for the featherweight division. Pico, although he was not a champion in Bellator MMA, has been considered one of the best fighters outside the UFC. At 28 years old, he was recognized as one of the most promising prospects in the history of mixed martial arts, with outstanding achievements in amateur wrestling and boxing.
In their original matchup, they would face Evloev, ranked as the number one contender in the division. Now, their focus is on Murphy, who, although undefeated, is positioned lower in the rankings than Evloev.
The current featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, does not yet have his next title defense scheduled.
