{"id":76044,"date":"2025-08-17T22:41:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T22:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/76044\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T22:41:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T22:41:07","slug":"aaron-pico-releases-first-statement-after-ufc-debut-knockout-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/76044\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Pico releases first statement after UFC debut knockout loss"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Aaron Pico\u2019s UFC debut ended poorly, but he\u2019s already looking ahead to his next opportunity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The former Bellator star co-headlined UFC 319 opposite top featherweight contender Lerone Murphy and though he had a few bright moments, Pico ultimately found himself on the wrong end of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmafighting.com\/ufc\/399469\/ufc-319-video-lerone-murphy-demolishes-aaron-pico-with-devastating-spinning-back-elbow-knockout\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a spectacular spinning back elbow knockout<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">It was a disappointing ending for Pico, a sizable favorite despite his lack of UFC experience. On Sunday, he posted a statement on Instagram reflecting on the loss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">\u201cLast night wasn\u2019t my night, that\u2019s the fight game,\u201d Pico wrote. \u201cI\u2019m grateful for my team, my family, and everyone who continues to support me. The supporters that have been there from day one and my new supporters, I see you! Thank you.<br \/>\u201cWins and losses both teach lessons and I\u2019ll come back sharper, stronger, and better prepared. Thank you all who have sent messages and checked in, my health is well. Thanks for riding with me. My story is not over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Pico, 28, is no stranger to rude welcomes. Ahead his first pro bout at Bellator 180 in New York in 2017, Pico was being touted as the next big thing in MMA due to his impressive amateur wrestling credentials and advanced striking. The then-20-year-old Pico fell short on fight night, losing to the lightly regarded Zach Freeman via guillotine choke submission in just 24 seconds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Following that setback, Pico went on to become a contender in Bellator\u2019s featherweight division, compiling a 13-4 record with numerous highlight-reel finishes. Had Pico defeated Murphy, he might have fast-tracked himself to a shot at UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, but for now it\u2019s back to the drawing board for the former wunderkind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aaron Pico\u2019s UFC debut ended poorly, but he\u2019s already looking ahead to his next opportunity. The former Bellator&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,1347,785,85,787,1396],"class_list":{"0":"post-76044","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-latest-news","12":"tag-mma","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-ufc","15":"tag-ufc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}