2025 has been a pretty interesting year for the UFC, as many former PFL and Bellator fighters jumped ship to Dana White‘s promotion. While some fighters impressed, others didn’t have an eventful debut, but there’s another fighter who’s got a lot of hype surrounding him, Aaron Pico. The 28-year-old prospect will be competing for the first time in the Las Vegas-based promotion, with Lerone Murphy taking the opportunity to welcome the featherweight fighter at UFC 319.
Dana White decided to hand Aaron Pico a co-main event spot on his debut. It’s a big spot, but it’s important to note that his debut could have happened a bit earlier than UFC 319 because the 28-year-old was supposed to fight the undefeated Movsar Evloev, but those plans fell through. Why? Well, as much as we know, it has to do with the Russian star.
Why did Movsar Evloev withdraw from the fight against Aaron Pico?
Given that Movsar Evloev boasts a flawless record, it was unusual to see him decide to pull out of the fight against Aaron Pico. They were scheduled to fight on July 26 at UFC Abu Dhabi, headlined by Reinier de Ridder and former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. The Russian fighter actually had no issues welcoming his highly touted counterpart into the UFC, but an injury spoiled all those plans.
While training in Thailand, Movsar Evloev reportedly suffered an injury. But on the other hand, some reports claim that he was suffering from something, so there was a lot of confusion surrounding Evloev’s status because the details of his issues were kept a secret. In the meantime, another former PFL and Bellator fighter, Patricio Pitbull, offered to replace the Russian star and fight Aaron Pico, but those plans did not materialize.
The UFC Abu Dhabi card takes its first loss in the Movsar Evloev vs Aaron Pico fight. According to our information, Evloev had to pull out due to an injury or health condition he sustained during a fight camp in Thailand. pic.twitter.com/8tycBSSX0a
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) July 14, 2025
As excited as he was about making his UFC debut, Aaron Pico felt the same level of ‘disappointment’ when that fight got canceled. He even shared a statement regarding it after learning about Movsar Evloev’s predicament. Let’s take a look at that front.
Aaron Pico disappointed after UFC Abu Dhabi fight cancellation
Aaron Pico was really looking forward to his first fight on the world’s biggest MMA stage, so he did not mince his words when he expressed how gutted he was that Movsar Evloev pulled out of the fight. While he did wish for the Russian star to get well sooner rather than later, Pico mentioned the costs he has to bear with every single training camp. Nevertheless, the 28-year-old was looking for other dates, and that’s when he set his sights on UFC 319, as Dana White went on to put him on that PPV card.
“Not going to sugarcoat it. I’m pretty disappointed you pulled out of this one. I get that things happen, and I truly hope whatever’s going on, you recover quickly,” Aaron Pico wrote on Instagram. “That said, my camps aren’t cheap, and I’m ready to get in there and put on a show sooner rather than later. I understand there’s an opening for us on August 16th in Chicago. We don’t get promotions for calling in sick. I’ll see you in Chicago, Movsar Evloev.”
Aaron Pico was hoping to fight Movsar Evloev in a rescheduled bout, but he got Leron Murphy, who’s also undefeated in his entire MMA career. It will be interesting to see how the former PFL and Bellator fighter performs at UFC 319, but in the meantime, let us know what you think about his replacement opponent in the comments down below.
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