Pico wants the rematch with Murphy

Aaron Pico wants the rematch with Lerone Murphy. He told MMA Fighting.

He will fight whoever the UFC gives him, and he wants to say that at 60 from his ranch. Pico is 30 and 15-5, and he is 2-1 in the UFC.

Arnold Allen came off UFC 333, Losene Keita stepped in, and Pico stopped Keita with strikes at 1:14 of the first round on October 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Eleven days passed between that stoppage and the interview, and Pico beat Patricio Pitbull by unanimous decision at 5:00 of the third round at UFC 327 on April 11.

Murphy knocked Pico out with a spinning elbow at 3:21 of the first round at UFC 319 on August 16, 2025, in Pico’s UFC debut. Murphy is 35 and 17-1-1. Movsar Evloev beat Murphy by majority decision at 5:00 of the fifth round on March 21, 2026, and that loss snapped a nine-fight winning streak.

Pico wants anybody ranked ahead of him. He is watching Aljamain Sterling against Kevin Vallejos, and he said he will fight the winner if both stay healthy. That bout is on November 21 in Doha, which the Doha card books.

Pico said he has no hard feelings toward Murphy except the loss, that he fought dumb, and that Murphy got lucky. Blessings came after that loss, he said. Pico said he does not look at the rankings, a manager handles the matchmaking, and an unranked opponent is fine. He called himself a beginner, and he said camps make him nervous.

Pico fought in Bellator before the UFC. Whittier, California is his birthplace, he trains at Jackson Wink MMA Academy in New Mexico, and he turned pro in 2017. Pico is 68 inches (168 cm) tall, with a 70.5-inch (179 cm) reach, at 145 pounds (66 kg). Ten of his wins came by knockout, the two submissions were a rear-naked choke and an anaconda, and three wins came by decision, and eight wins ended in the first round. He was a 2016 United States Olympic team alternate in wrestling, a U17 world champion in wrestling, a 2008 national pankration champion, a 2008 National PAL boxing champion, and a 2009 National Junior Golden Gloves champion. He skipped college, he went from wrestling straight into fighting, and his son Valentino was born in 2021.

Manchester, England is Murphy’s birthplace. Murphy trains at Manchester Top Team, his nickname is The Miracle, and he turned pro in 2016. Murphy is 69 inches (175 cm) tall, with a 73.5-inch (187 cm) reach, and eight of his wins came by knockout. He stopped Terry Doyle at 0:42 of the first round and Nathan Thompson at 0:48 of the first round, he held the FCC European featherweight title, and he has a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.