Aaron Pico Debuts in the UFC against Lerone Murphy at UFC 319
Aaron Pico’s highly anticipated UFC debut will materialize against Lerone Murphy at the UFC 319 event, which will be held in Chicago, as announced by the promotion this Saturday.
Pico (13-4) was originally scheduled to debut in the UFC against Movsar Evloev at a UFC Fight Night event. However, Evloev had to withdraw earlier this month. Pico, who had a distinguished career in Bellator MMA, publicly requested that the UFC 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, scheduled for August 16 in Chicago.
This change represents an interesting situation for the featherweight division. Pico, despite not having been a champion in Bellator, has been recognized as one of the best fighters outside the UFC. At 28 years old, he was considered one of the greatest prospects in the history of mixed martial arts, with notable achievements in amateur wrestling and boxing.
Initially, he would face Evloev, ranked as the number one contender in the division. Now, Pico will face Murphy, who remains undefeated but is positioned lower in the rankings than Evloev.
The current featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, does not yet have his next title defense scheduled.
