Not everybody is a fan of the co-headliner for Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev.
The biggest fight of the year takes place next month at UFC 319 on Aug. 16 in Chicago. In the main event, South African champion du Plessis defends his middleweight title for a third time against one of the scariest fighters we’ve seen in recent memory, the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev.
The upcoming pay-per-view finally filled in its co-main event slot just recently, adding a featherweight bout between the debuting Aaron Pico and #6-ranked contender Lerone Murphy.
Former Bellator fighter Pico was initially scheduled against #1 contender Movsar Evloev at UFC Abu Dhabi last weekend but Evloev withdrew from the matchup.
A top contender has his reasons for not tuning in to Pico vs. Murphy.
Renato Moicano says Aaron Pico and Lerone Murphy lack name value
Former UFC title challenger Renato Moicano says he hardly knows anything about next month’s co-main headliner.
UFC 319 marks the debut of Pico, a former star under the Bellator banner who was once touted as the greatest prospect in MMA before his unsuccessful pro debut in 2017.
As for Murphy, the 34-year-old from England has headlined two UFC events before, both at the crowdless UFC Apex.
“This is not a sport. This is entertainment,” Moicano said when talking about Murphy on the Show Me The Money Podcast.
“If you’re very good, but nobody knows you, people don’t [watch]…
“I don’t wanna watch,” Moicano said of the UFC 319 co-main event.
“Because let’s be honest. I don’t know Aaron Pico. Call me a casual. Maybe I’m a casual. I think I watched [Pico] once on Bellator. And you got only the highlights, on Instagram and stuff. I don’t know his game. I don’t know much about him.
“If it’s Evloev, people know Evloev… Not many people know about Lerone Murphy, to be honest.
If you ask a casual fan, you say, hey, do you know Lerone Murphy? They don’t know.”
Fans react to UFC 319 co-main event
There was a mixed reaction to Pico getting booked against Murphy in his debut.
While many hardcore fans have wanted to see Pico in the UFC for years, others don’t seem to get the hype behind the well-rounded 13-4 Bellator star or the undefeated Murphy, who is 16-0-1 as a pro.
“That’s just not getting anyone excited, respectfully,” a fan said of the matchup on X.
“Solid card, Meh Co-main,” another fan wrote.
“In other words, they don’t have a co-main event,” a fan said of Pico vs. Murphy.