Aaron Pico ‘pretty disappointed’ Movsar Evloev dropped out of their fight at UFC Abu Dhabi

Aaron Pico won’t be making his long awaited debut in July as scheduled.

On Thursday, the former Bellator fighter confirmed recent rumors that Movsar Evloev was dropping out of their scheduled fight at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 26. It’s unfortunate news with the featherweights expected to serve as a marquee, five-round co-main event on that card but now the bout has been at least delayed.

That’s because Pico also hinted at rebooking the fight against Evloev at UFC 319, which takes place three weeks later on Aug. 16 when the promotion lands in Chicago for a card headlined by middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis taking on Khamzat Chimaev.

“Not going to sugarcoat it. I’m pretty disappointed you pulled out of this one,” Pico wrote on Instagram. “I get that things happen, and I truly hope whatever’s going on, you recover quickly.

“That said, my camps aren’t cheap, and I’m ready to get in there and put on a show sooner rather than later. I understand there’s an opening for us on August 16th in Chicago. We don’t get promotions for calling in sick. I’ll see you in Chicago, Movsar Evloev.”

The UFC has yet to address the situation much less confirmed if there are plans in place to potentially rebook Pico and Evloev for the card in Chicago.

Evloev also hasn’t acknowledged his withdrawal from the card or what exactly happened to force him to drop out of the fight with Pico.

Obviously, Pico is anxiously awaiting word with hopes that he can still get the fight against Evloev in his highly publicized UFC debut after signing with the promotion in free agency.

The 28-year-old fighter has widely been considered one of the best prospects to ever transition into MMA after he competed in both wrestling and boxing during his youth. Pico is currently riding a three-fight win streak including back-to-back knockouts in his most recent appearances with a 9-1 record in his past 10 fights with his only loss coming after he suffered a shoulder injury that forced a stoppage in his bout against Jeremy Kennedy in 2022.

As for Evloev, he’s widely regarded as the top contender in the featherweight division with an unblemished resume including wins over Arnold Allen, Diego Lopes and Aljamain Sterling. Despite reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski pushing for a title fight against Evloev, the promotion ultimately decided to give him Pico instead.

There’s no word yet how quickly the UFC might move on rebooking Pico vs. Evloev for a new date or if the matchup gets scrapped all together after falling off the card in Abu Dhabi.