Aaron Pico to Debut in the UFC Against Lerone Murphy
Aaron Pico’s highly anticipated UFC debut will take place against Lerone Murphy at UFC 319 in Chicago, the promotion announced on Saturday.
Pico (13-4) was originally scheduled to debut against Movsar Evloev at UFC Fight Night on Saturday. However, Evloev was forced to withdraw earlier this month. Pico, a long-time Bellator MMA standout, publicly requested the UFC to reschedule him 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 presents an interesting situation for the featherweight division. Although Pico was never a champion in Bellator, he has been considered one of the best fighters in the world outside of the UFC. At 28 years old, he was once considered the most promising prospect in MMA history, with an outstanding career in amateur wrestling and boxing.
Initially, he was expected to face Evloev, the number one contender in the division. Now, Pico will face Murphy, who, although undefeated, has a lower ranking than Evloev.
The current featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, does not yet have his next title defense scheduled.
