They were on, then they were off, now they’re on again. As it turns out, Aaron Pico will face Movsar Evloev in his UFC debut, set for UFC Abu Dhabi this July.
The pairing had previously been reported for an earlier date, only for Evloev to reportedly back away from the fight. Now, it’s official: on Wednesday, promotion reps announced the bout as a five-round co-main event on July 26, 2025 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Pico (13-4) is crossing over from the PFL, an organization he was absorbed into after the company purchased rival promotion Bellator MMA. Long considered a blue chip prospect, Pico was on the brink of a title shot, or should have been, against Patricio Pitbull — only for the league to fail to make the fight materialize.
Both fighters would later request their release, and both would be picked up by the UFC. It’s Pico, however, at just 28, who is looked at as having a long future in the 145lb division.
Pico’s only loss since 2019 came in a fight with Jeremy Kennedy, due to an injured shoulder. He holds wins over Henry Corrales, Pedro Carvalho, and former Bellator title challenger and LFA champ Leandro Higo.
Movsar Evloev, meanwhile, remains undefeated at 19-0. He’s been unable to sniff a title shot in the UFC, however, likely at least in part to having nine decisions in nine fights with the promotion.
UFC Abu Dhabi on July 26, 2025 is headlined by middleweights Robert Whittaker and Reinier de Ridder. The following match-ups have been announced or reported for the card:
- Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder
- Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico
- Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Marc-André Barriault
- Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov
- Asu Almabayev vs. Ramazan Temirov
- İbo Aslan vs. Billy Elekana
- Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Bryce Mitchell
- Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci
