Aaron Pico Debuts in UFC against Lerone Murphy in Chicago
Aaron Pico’s expected UFC debut will materialize against Lerone Murphy at the UFC 319 event, which will be held in Chicago. The organization announced this on Saturday.
Pico (13-4) was scheduled to make his UFC debut against Movsar Evloev at a Fight Night event. However, Evloev had to withdraw earlier this month. Pico, after a distinguished career in Bellator MMA, publicly requested the UFC to reschedule a fight for him as soon as possible. His 145-pound matchup 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 turn for the featherweight division. Although Pico was not a champion in Bellator, he has long been considered one of the best fighters outside the UFC. At 28 years old, he was considered one of the most promising prospects in the history of mixed martial arts, with an outstanding career in amateur wrestling and boxing.
Originally, he was going to face Evloev, who is the number one contender in the division. Now, Pico will focus on Murphy, who remains undefeated, but is ranked below Evloev.
The current featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, still doesn’t have his next title defense scheduled.
