Aaron Pico wants to test himself against Movsar Evloev but sees one major obstacle

Aaron Pico, after his knockout victory over Losene Keita at UFC 333, calls out top-ranked featherweights because he feels they are "ranking squatters," won’t accept tough matchups, and just want to sit on their ranking spots. 

Pico wants to test himself against the best and is now targeting a showdown with Movsar Evloev, who recently fought for the featherweight title against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 333. However, Pico believes that the matchup won't be made for now as he feels Evloev will take time off after a devastating defeat at UFC 333. 

Aaron Pico targets Movsar Evloev but expects lengthy wait

Speaking with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, Pico expressed his desire for a potential fight with Evloev. He believes a fight against the Russian would be an interesting stylistic matchup.

However, the former Bellator star acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding Evloev’s potential return after his KO loss to Volkanovski last month.

“I’d love to fight Movsar. We were supposed to fight, but I think it’s going to be a while before he comes back. I mean, especially after that and his long training camp. Stylistically, that’s a really good matchup for me. But I don’t know when he’s going to return. I don’t think it’s going to be anytime soon,” Pico said. 

Check out Aaron Pico's comments below: 

With his impressive first-round knockout victory over Keita at UFC 333, Pico extended his win streak to two. If he gets the matchup against Evloev and delivers another great performance, he could put himself closer to a title opportunity.

However, with Evloev’s return timeline uncertain, Pico said he is open to fighting any top-ranked featherweight. He also said he wants to run it back with Lerone Murphy, who handed him a brutal knockout defeat in his UFC debut.

Aaron Pico wants rematch with Lerone Murphy 

In the interview mentioned above, Pico explained that he wants another opportunity against Murphy and believes a victory over the Brit would bring him closer to a title shot.

“I want to fight and get that one back. I mean, obviously, you watched the fight. I was beating him up. If I would have just been a little bit smarter, I would have gotten that win,” Pico said. “But there's a lot of blessings that came because of the loss. And yeah, that's the reason why I want to run it back. And why wouldn't I? I mean, he's top five in the world. So it just puts me closer to fighting for a title. And I know I can beat him. So yeah, I would love to fight him for sure.”

Neither Murphy nor Pico has a fight booked. The Brit suffered the first defeat of his career against Evloev via majority decision in March and has been out of action since. It will be interesting to see whether the UFC pairs them again or they face other opponents.