Aaron Pico makes UFC debut against Movsar Evloev at UFC Abu Dhabi

Aaron Pico’s UFC debut is set – and it’s anything but an easy booking.

The UFC announced Wednesday that Pico (13-4) is set to fight the undefeated Movsar Evloev (19-0) in the five-round co-main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, which takes place July 26 at Etihad Arena.

@JamieTheoMMA was first to report the matchup.

See the UFC Abu Dhabi main card announcement below.

Pico enters his first UFC event on a hot streak, having won three straight fights and coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts of Henry Corrales and Pedro Carvalho. The 28-year-old was one of the most heavily hyped prospects of all time when he made his MMA debut in 2017 and though he has had his fair share of setbacks (including losing said debut in just 24 seconds to the unheralded Zach Freeman), his incredible finishing ability made him a star in Bellator.

Evloev, 31, seeks a UFC title shot after winning his first nine fights for the promotion. Though Evloev has knocked off a number of notable names, including former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in his most recent outing as well as ranked featherweights Arnold Allen, Diego Lopes, and Dan Ige, a championship opportunity still eludes him. Evloev is yet to find a finish inside the octagon, which has hindered his popularity.

UFC Abu Dhabi is headlined by former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker taking on former ONE Championship two-division titleholder Reinier de Ridder.

See the updated main card below:

Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder

Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico

Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee

Bryce Mitchell vs. Said Nurmagomedov

Shara Magomedov vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov