Tim Elliott is able to bask a bit in the glow of a big win in Chicago, but Aaron Pico did not have the same stroke of luck on August 16th. At UFC 319, both Elliott and Pico entered the cage on the same night but exited the octagon with dramatically different outcomes.
Elliott fought against former UFC title challenger and former Rizin titleholder Kai Asakura and, as one of the bigger betting underdogs on the card, secured a submission win in the waning moments of the second stanza.
On the same event, Pico made his UFC debut and suffered a devastating knockout loss by way of a spinning backfist to Lerone Murphy in the bout’s opening frame.
During an interview with James Lynch of Inside Fighting, the UFC stalwart gave his thoughts on the fate that befell the UFC debutant from over the past weekend, as Elliott said,
“I didn’t see the actual finish. I just got to see Pico laid out on the canvas, which I hate. Not just for him, obviously I’ve worked with him in the past, and I know him a little bit. But man, I don’t like to see anybody laid out like that. Those are the kind of shots that I said that I’ve been lucky enough to avoid.”
“I just don’t know how you comeback from something like that, but if anybody can do it, it’s Aaron Pico. I mean, he’s one of the best athletes in the world. Obviously [Lerone] Murphy is too, and boy, he got to show it that night.”