Overview

• The UFC confirmed Pico vs. Murphy as the co-main event for UFC 319 on August 16 in Chicago after Evloev withdrew with a lingering injury.
• Lerone Murphy accepted the fight on three weeks’ notice, coming in at 16-0-1 and ranked sixth in the featherweight division.
• Aaron Pico arrives with high expectations following his Bellator tenure and extensive amateur wrestling and boxing accolades.
• Movsar Evloev remains sidelined by injury, scrapping his scheduled UFC debut against Pico at UFC on ABC 9 in Abu Dhabi.
• With champion Alexander Volkanovski’s next defense unbooked, the winner of this bout could emerge as the new leading contender.