Latest news with #Pico
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lerone Murphy on Aaron Pico bout: 'A fighter like me, who's quiet and whatnot, I've got to take these chances'
Lerone Murphy has the biggest opportunity of his career lined up for Aug. 16 against promotional newcomer Aaron Pico at UFC 319. Competing in the promotion's big return to Chicago wasn't initially part of Murphy's summer plans. Top-ranked featherweight contender Movsar Evloev was instead tasked with welcoming Pico to the Octagon, however Evloev was ultimately forced to withdraw from the bout with an undisclosed injury. Speaking to Uncrowned on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show," Murphy revealed that he was offered the matchup on short notice only a matter of days ago, yet he was fully on board with it immediately. "It's going to bring good eyes to me and it's a big opportunity for me now, in the position I'm in, to make some noise and try to get that No. 1 spot," Murphy explained. "A fighter like me, who's quiet and whatnot, I've got to take these chances. They're not going to give me nothing for free. "A fight's a fight. For me, I'm going in there with no pressure. Don't get it twisted, he's coming from another organization, but this kid's good. This kid's high level. I believe this is like a championship-level fight. He's good enough to compete with anyone in that division, especially in the top 10. So yeah, I think it's a big fight, it's a big stop to tick." Murphy, 34, joins the fast-growing list of UFC stalwarts to receive the honor of tackling one of the promotion's big-name acquisitions from the PFL-Bellator merger. Before Pico made the jump, his fellow former Bellator standouts Patchy Mix and Patricio Pitbull notably floundered in their UFC debuts. Despite Pico's lack of comparative experience to those two, Murphy doesn't want to discredit his next obstacle. The Brit also saw no reason to refuse the fight just because Pico has yet to debut. "He's fought some good guys, to be fair, but definitely not the level of guys I've fought," Murphy said. "I've fought better fighters than he has, so I think I've got the edge in experience. But yeah, he's wrestled from [early childhood] as well, so a fight's a fight. I've been in there with the best of the guys, and I'll be ready for Aaron Pico. Simple. "The game's the game. Listen, from a business perspective, people would probably have said, 'You shouldn't take the fight, sit out and wait for a big opportunity.' But it's like, for me, I think this is a big opportunity. I just want to fight as well, bro. I'm not getting no younger. I just want to stay active, I want to fight. Everybody else seems to get surgery and whatnot. Do I want to be sat out waiting until December, November? No, I don't. I'm ready to go now. So, whoever, whenever. "If I believe I can be champion, I've got to be able to fight anybody in any given moment, and that's it for me," Murphy continued. "We took the fight. I know it's a tough fight. I know it's a dangerous fight. Big risk, big reward, isn't it? Simple. I'm happy and I'm excited." As a UFC newcomer, Pico still finds himself in a massive spot with the late opponent switch, switching from one undefeated top featherweight contender to another. Like Evloev, Murphy has long been on a tear, winning 16 of his 17 career bouts, with the lone non-victory coming in the form of a draw six years ago in his UFC debut. Yet Murphy's winning streak hasn't yet put him at the forefront of title talks. For "The Miracle," he believes that's more a sign of the times than a knock on his talent. "I feel like MMA nowadays is like the WWE. You've got to have it all," Murphy said. "You've got to have the acting skills, there's a lot that comes with the game. "It's not just about who's the best fighter. If it was, there's a lot of guys that would have fought for the title a long time ago. It's about who's the fan favorite, and you see other guys in the division getting big, fast pushes. I fought two main events, beat two guys in main events. Two five-rounders. Three guys in the top 15, and I've still got to fight these people [like Pico]. So that just goes to show, if you're a fan favorite, you get fast-tracked. It's business, I get it." Murphy believes the same logic can be applied to Evloev and how he was lined up with Pico despite being the No. 1-ranked contender. As successful as Evloev has been, his lack of a finishes in his nine UFC fights has led to speculation that the UFC wants to see him be more exciting before he gets a title shot. But Murphy sees the potential to leapfrog the heap and get a title shot of his own if he takes out Pico. Reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is among the current crop of titleholders still waiting to get their next title defense, which only gives Murphy more confidence he can make waves with an impactful performance. If nothing else, UFC 319 provides a good spotlight that the Brit intends to capitalize on. "I just explained the game," Murphy said. "When you look at it from the UFC's perspective, it's like, who's going to sell the pay-per-views? It's a business, and who's going to pay to see Volkanovski vs. Evloev? I personally would like to see it, but most people probably won't. They'll probably want to see the Diego Lopeses, the Jean Silvas. These guys that have got a bit of hype. The game's the game, isn't it? And if it goes off [merit], maybe Evloev should have gotten the title, but he's just pulled out of this fight here, another opportunity, so it's going to be a long road for him. "I think this fight's going to be a fire fight. I think we're both going to show our weight in gold and I believe this is the No. 1 contender fight. That was the No. 1 contender fight, Evloev and Pico, 100%. And obviously UFC want more U.S. champions, I believe. They've got one U.S. champion now at the moment. "I know if I go out there and do what I need to do, do what I know I can do, everybody's going to be screaming for my shot."
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Aaron Pico gets UFC 319 co-main event vs. Lerone Murphy
Aaron Pico's UFC debut won't come vs. Movsar Evloev after all. Initially scheduled for UFC on ABC 9, Pico (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will now fight Lerone Murphy in the co-main event for UFC 319 on Aug. 16 in Chicago. The new matchup was officially announced during the UFC on ABC 9 broadcast. Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) withdrew from Pico's initially-scheduled July 26 debut due to an illness and the promotion removed Pico from the card thereafter. Once news broke of the cancellation, Pico voiced on social media his hope for a rebooking at United Center, but now he'll be fighting Murphy (16-0-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC) instead. The fight will mark Pico's highly anticipated debut after fighting his entire career in Bellator and PFL. Prior to his MMA debut, Pico was dubbed a prodigy for his extensive training background in wrestling and boxing. There were ups and downs as Pico matured in the international spotlight, but his recent outings have shown a highly-diversified game. Murphy has yet to lose in his UFC career. His promotional wins include Dan Ige, Edson Barboza, and most recently Josh Emmett. With the addition, here's the latest UFC 319 lineup:
USA Today
18-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
'Disappointed' Aaron Pico calls for scrapped Movsar Evloev bout to be rebooked at UFC 319
A post shared by Aaron Pico (@aaronpicousa) Aaron Pico's UFC debut will be delayed. Movsar Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) was forced out of his featherweight co-main event against Pico (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC on ABC 9 on July 26 from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Evloev's reason for withdrawing remains undisclosed, but Pico suggests that the pair could be rescheduled for as soon as next month at UFC 319 on Aug. 16 in Chicago – or at least that's what he's hoping for. "Not going to sugarcoat it. I'm pretty disappointed you pulled out of this one. 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." Pico's eagerness to compete is understandable, as the former Bellator standout hasn't fought since a finish over Henry Corrales in a lightweight bout in February 2024. Evloev is coming off a unanimous decision win against former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling this past December at UFC 310.
USA Today
15-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Movsar Evloev injured, out of Aaron Pico fight for UFC on ABC 9
Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico is a no go for UFC on ACB 9. Movsar Evloev will not be fighting Aaron Pico after all, at least for now. The top UFC featherweight contender has been forced to withdraw from the scheduled bout to due to an undisclosed injury he suffered in training camp. Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) was scheduled to take on Pico (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC on ABC 9 on July 27 at Etihad Arena. MMA Junkie confirmed the news with people close to the situation Tuesday following a report from Red Corner MMA. Those sources told MMA Junkie the UFC plans to keep the matchup and schedule Evloev vs. Pico for a later event. The UFC has yet to make the change official. Pico, who's been a standout fighter for quite sometime outside the UFC, was granted his release form PFL earlier this year, thus prompting his addition to the UFC roster. The fight with Evloev was supposed to be his promotional debut. Pico is on a three-fight winning streak. He last competed n February 2024, when he stopped veteran Henry Corrales in a lightweight bout. Evloev remains unbeaten in his pro career, including his first nine in the UFC – all of which have been decisions. Those wins have come against increasingly stiff competition, including Arnold Allen in early 2024 and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling late this past year.
Engadget
14-07-2025
- Engadget
TikTok owner ByteDance is reportedly building its own mixed reality goggles
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is reportedly working on mixed reality goggles, The Information reports. The in-development device is designed to layer digital objects over your view of the real world, and is supposed to compete directly with Meta's upcoming mixed reality products. The goggles are being built by ByteDance's virtual reality startup Pico, the creators of the Pico 4 VR headset. Pico's past products have attempted to match Meta's Quest headsets in terms of features, but these new goggles apparently represent a different approach (albeit one still positioned as an alternative to Meta). Rather than a bulky headset, the goggles are supposed to be small and light, about the size of the Bigscreen Beyond VR headset, which weighs 0.28 pounds. Pico is keeping the device lightweight by offloading most of the computing work to a puck that's connected to the goggles over a wire. Meta's prototype Orion AR glasses used a wireless puck for a similar weight-saving purpose when the company demoed them in November 2024. Pico is also reportedly working on building "specialized chips for the device that will process data from its sensors to minimize the lag or latency between what a user sees in AR and their physical movements," The Information writes. Plenty of the details are still up in the air, but the report notes that the ByteDance / Pico goggles should be very similar to Meta's next mixed reality device. Following the release of the Quest 3S, Meta reportedly postponed work on the Quest 4 in favor of developing lightweight mixed reality goggles, according to UploadVR . The company has been publicly pushing AI wearables like the newly introduced Oakley Meta HSTN glasses, and it seems like its next Quest device will be closer to smart glasses than a VR headset with controllers. It's not known when ByteDance's goggles will actually be released or where they'll be sold. Current Pico headsets aren't sold in the US, and given the concern over ByteDance's ownership of TikTok, it seems unlikely the company would be able to sell a mixed reality device without pushback.
