Aaron Pico gets honest about Diego Lopes' performance against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314 while making surprise admission
Aaron Pico recently gave his take on Diego Lopes' performance against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314. While expressing his dissatisfaction with Lopes, Pico praised the Brazilian for having a strong chin.
Lopes took on Volkanovski for the vacant UFC featherweight title in the main event of UFC 314. Despite being dominated in the early stages of the bout, the 30-year-old bounced back and displayed his tenacity throughout the five rounds. However, that wasn't enough, and Volkanovski was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Pico expressed his thoughts on the matchup, voicing his disappointment with Lopes' performance.
''Now that the fight is over with, he just showed that he’s very, very tough. He has a great chin, but I’ll just be very blunt: I think he looked very sloppy. I don’t think it was his best performance, but what I took away from it – he’s got a granite of a chin, and he just keeps coming forward.''
The 28-year-old lauded Volkanovski.
''I mean, he proved me wrong, to be honest with you. I was saying before the fight I thought Diego Lopes was going to win. Alexander Volkanovski is not old, but in MMA years, he’s getting on the older side. But he just proved that age is just a number, and he’s getting better... He’s a very good fighter. I look to fight him one day, and it would be an honor.”
Check out Aaron Pico's comments below (5:17):
As for Pico, he signed with UFC, following a lengthy stint in Bellator. According to multiple reports, the American was expected to make his octagon debut against top contender Movsar Evloev next month. However, that may not materialize, as Evloev's team is aiming for a title fight with Volkanovski.
In the aforementioned interview, Pico expressed his desire to face Brian Ortega.
Alexander Volkanovski is ready to face Movsar Evloev for his next title defense
Alexander Volkanovski secured a unanimous decision win over Diego Lopes at UFC 314 to become a two-time UFC featherweight champion. In the post-fight presser, Volkanovski discussed the potential opponents for his next title defense. 'The Great' wants to take on undefeated contender Movsar Evloev.
''Obviously, you’ve got guys like Movsar, who’s undefeated. I’d love to take that zero. We’ve got to see what the UFC say. I even seen him tweeting that he wants to fight someone in May and doing all this sort of stuff... I’d love to say I want to get straight back in there. I still do.''
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (6:52):