Aaron Pico’s UFC debut won’t come vs. Movsar Evloev after all.
Initially scheduled for UFC on ABC 9, Pico (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will now fight Lerone Murphy in the co-main event for UFC 319 on Aug. 16 in Chicago. The new matchup was officially announced during the UFC on ABC 9 broadcast.
Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) withdrew from Pico’s initially-scheduled July 26 debut due to an illness and the promotion removed Pico from the card thereafter. Once news broke of the cancellation, Pico voiced on social media his hope for a rebooking at United Center, but now he’ll be fighting Murphy (16-0-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC) instead.
The fight will mark Pico’s highly anticipated debut after fighting his entire career in Bellator and PFL. Prior to his MMA debut, Pico was dubbed a prodigy for his extensive training background in wrestling and boxing.
There were ups and downs as Pico matured in the international spotlight, but his recent outings have shown a highly-diversified game.
Murphy has yet to lose in his UFC career. His promotional wins include Dan Ige, Edson Barboza, and most recently Josh Emmett.
With the addition, here’s the latest UFC 319 lineup:
- Champion Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev – for middleweight title
- Lerone Murphy vs. Aaron Pico
- Jared Cannonier vs. Michael Page
- Geoff Neal vs. Carlos Prates
- Kai Asakura vs. Tim Elliott
- JJ Aldrich vs. Karine Silva
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Chase Hooper
- Bryan Battle vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
- Jessica Andrade vs. Lupita Godinez
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- Diego Ferreira vs. King Green
- Edson Barboza vs. Drakkar Klose
