Aaron Pico doesn’t want to spend too long waiting to make his UFC debut.
The former Bellator featherweight was supposed to face Movsar Evloev at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 26.
However, their number one contender fight was recently cancelled after the 19-0 Russian got injured and withdrew from the contest
UFC 318 star Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire offered to step in on short notice, but it was eventually decided that Aaron Pico would also be removed from the card.
- READ MORE: Aaron Pico shut opponent’s lights out with one-punch knockout for first MMA win at Bellator 183
Aaron Pico eyes UFC 319 debut
Pico remained silent about his fight cancellation until he released a social media statement on Thursday.
The frustrated 28-year-old called for his scrap with Evloev to be rescheduled for UFC 319 on August 16.
“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.
“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_94.”
Is there space on the UFC 319 card?
A middleweight title fight between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev will headline UFC 319.
Less than a month out from the August 16 event, the card is almost complete after 11 fight announcements.
However, there does appear to be a gap on the main card that Pico and Evloev could fill.
- Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev
- Geoff Neal vs. Carlos Prates
- Jared Cannonier vs. Michael ‘Venom’ Page
- Tim Elliott vs. Kai Asakura
- King Green vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira
- Jessica Andrade vs. Loopy Godinez
- Chase Hooper vs. Alexander Hernandez
- Edson Barboza vs. Drakkar Klose
- Bryan Battle vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
- Karine Silva vs. JJ Aldrich