Aaron Pico delivers brutal first-round TKO of Losene Keita at UFC 333

Aaron Pico and Losene Keita threw down in the opening bout of the main card at UFC 333, which was headlined by the featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev. The event went down at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

This was a short-notice fight, as Pico was originally scheduled to take on top featherweight contender Arnold Allen at UFC 333. Keita stepped in to replace Allen.

Aaron Pico destroys Losene Keita with first-round TKO at UFC 333

Pico entered the fight looking to prove that he is among the elite featherweights and to extend his win streak. He had suffered a knockout loss to Lerone Murphy in his debut before securing his first win in the promotion against Patricio Pitbull via decision.

While Keita entered the fight with more confidence after knocking out Muhammad Naimov in September to secure his first UFC win, both fighters were looking to earn their second victory in the promotion.

Interestingly, it was Pico who stole the show, stunning fans by making quick work of Keita and delivering a spectacular finish.

Pico opened the fight by immediately pursuing a takedown, bringing Keita to the ground and putting the short-notice replacement on the defensive. The two eventually returned to the center of the octagon, where the American continued to look for an opening.

With still four minutes remaining in the opening round, Pico landed a sharp straight right hand that visibly stumbled Keita and sent him crashing to the canvas. Sensing the opportunity to finish, the American followed him to the ground, trapped one of Black Panther's hands and unleashed a barrage of unanswered strikes.

Keita struggled to defend himself as Pico continued his assault. The referee intervened and stopped the contest at the 1:14 mark of the first round.

The emphatic finish gave Pico a highlight-reel victory and put him in a position where he can get the top contender next.