Aaron Pico credits Diego Lopes for his toughness, but expected more out of him at UFC 314.
Lopes (27-6 MMA, 6-1 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Alexander Volkanovski (27-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in their vacant featherweight title fight, which headlined Saturday’s event at Kaseya Center in Miami.
“Now that the fight is over with, he just showed that he’s very, very tough,” Pico told Submission Radio on Lopes. “He has a great chin, but I’ll just be very blunt: I think he looked very sloppy. I don’t think it was his best performance, but what I took away from it – he’s got a granite of a chin, and he just keeps coming forward.”
Pico admits he initially picked Lopes to win, and was surprised with Volkanovski’s performance.
“I mean, he proved me wrong, to be honest with you,” Pico said. “I was saying before the fight I thought Diego Lopes was going to win. Alexander Volkanovski is not old, but in MMA years, he’s getting on the older side. But he just proved that age is just a number, and he’s getting better. And on the flip side, I got to see him live and study him as best as I can, and he’s a very good fighter. I look to fight him one day, and it would be an honor.”
As Pico looks to contend for the UFC title someday, the former Bellator standout is still eyeing Brian Ortega for his debut fight – a fight he sees making perfect sense.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.
