The hottest free agent in MMA is making his way to the UFC. Aaron Pico (13-4) has made it clear that he wants to fight inside the octagon. PFL has been wanting to retain Pico and Donn Davis made it clear that they wanted him to stay with the promotion. However, Pico expressed his desires to only fight in the UFC moving forward and it appears that is what’s happening.
Vestnik MMA reported over the weekend that Pico’s octagon debut is being targeted for May 17th against undefeated Movsar Evloev (19-0). The fight would headline a Fight Night at The APEX. I love the idea of Pico getting this big of a fight in his debut, but I absolutely hate the idea of him fighting in The APEX for his debut.
Nevertheless, assuming this fight happens, it’s a golden opportunity for Pico to jump right into title contention should he get a win. Pico was arguably the most hyped prospect in the history of the sport given his sensational wrestling and boxing background. He was truly a prodigy and signed with Bellator as a teenager.
However, his reckless style early on led him to a 4-3 start in his professional career. Since moving to Jackson-Wink, Pico is 9-1 with the only loss being an injury TKO. Now, he’ll get to fight on the biggest stage in the UFC.
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Standing across from him will be Movsar Evloev. Evloev is wanting a title shot but his performances just aren’t moving the needle with promotional officials so he’s being forced to take on exciting fights to get that elusive title shot. Since making his promotional debut, the former M-1 champion is 9-0.
He has wins over the likes of Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Arnold Allen, and Aljamain Sterling. However, his latest win against Sterling was nothing to write home about and now he’s looking to change the narrative by fighting someone like Pico. Pico is a very tough matchup for Evloev because of his decorated wrestling and his striking skills. This is a very interesting matchup and the winner will be right in the picture for a UFC featherweight title shot.