PICO: "I'm a WARRIOR" — KEITA Gets His FULL Focus
“Saturday is going to be a good night for me. I'm very prepared for this, confident, one step closer to winning a championship with this victory.”
Aaron Pico was promised a ranked name at UFC 333. He got an unranked one instead — and says Saturday in Abu Dhabi is still the biggest night of his life.
"I'm a warrior, and I've got to fight anybody that they put in front of me."
That was Pico to MMA Junkie on Tuesday. The plan fell apart twice, and he never blinked once.
Pico faces Losene Keita on Saturday's UFC 333 main card at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. A win puts him one step closer to a championship fight.
The Opponents Who Never Showed
First, the bigger names disappeared. Former champion Aljamain Sterling, ranked No. 4 at featherweight, turned Pico down.
Then No. 6 contender Arnold Allen withdrew for health reasons about a month ago. That left Keita, who is unranked.
Keita is 17-2 in MMA and 1-1 in the UFC. Pico is 14-5 in MMA and 1-1 in the UFC. The records match. The name value does not.
A Career That Started With Pain
Pico knows hard roads. The longtime Bellator standout lost his UFC debut at UFC 319 last year by first-round knockout to Lerone Murphy.
Eight months later, he answered. In April, he beat Patricio Freire by unanimous decision at UFC 327.
That win told the UFC what he could be. The matchmaking since tells you the promotion agreed with him.
"I'm a warrior, and I've got to fight anybody that they put in front of me."
No More Pressure
Pico turned 30 in September. He says the pressure that chased him as a teenage wrestling prospect is gone now.
He takes each day as it comes. The title will come when it comes, and stressing about it helps nobody.
"Saturday is going to be a good night for me," Pico said. "I'm very prepared for this, confident, one step closer to winning a championship with this victory."
Can Pico turn a replacement fight into a ranked statement — or does Keita steal the night nobody planned for him?
