Dustin Poirier thinks debutant Aaron Pico ‘got in his own way’ at UFC 319.
UFC 319 was a dramatic affair from Chicago, Illinois, with a 12-fight card headlined by Dricus du Plessis and the newly-crowned champion Khamzat Chimaev.
The main card saw back-to-back knockouts come by spinning elbow as Carlos Prates KO’d Geoff Neal, and the undefeated Lerone Murphy spoiled Aaron Pico’s UFC debut in brutal fashion.
The 28-year-old Bellator star Pico wasted no time in taking the fight to Murphy and was very aggressive from the start. Despite some early success, this ultimately led to his downfall as Murphy timed a spinning elbow for the knockout as Pico was pressing forward.
Pico, a blue-chip prospect for his accolades in wrestling and boxing, has previously lost by knockout twice, and has rebounded.
UFC legend Dustin Poirier wants to see Pico make some changes if he’s going to continue competing against the best fighters in the world.
Dustin Poirier calls for Aaron Pico to be ‘more patient’ after UFC 319 loss
Pico’s MMA debut in 2017 lasted 24 seconds after the fighter was caught in a guillotine choke.
His UFC debut didn’t go much longer at 3:21, with a counter striker like Murphy using his aggressiveness against Pico rather quickly.
The recently retired Poirier says Pico didn’t take his time to set up his attacks because he believes in his skills so much.
“He’s all in when he fights,” Poirier said of Pico on the UFC 319 post-show.
“When he’s coming in to throw these combinations, he’s sharp, but he’s explosive. He doesn’t do any feel out punches, no jabs, no setups. Everything is kill,” the veteran pointed out.
“And when you do that, you win big, which he has done, or you lose big, which he has done.
“So, I would like to see a little middle ground, him filling out the shots, setting them up, being a little bit more patient because he has the skills and he believes in it.
“That’s why he’s going forward like he does. But you have to set it up against this caliber of fighter. You can’t just rush in there, jump in there, throwing 100% every punch. You have to make them guess. You have to set traps. You have to make them, make mistakes, then put them away…
“He has those tools, but he’s getting in his own way,” Poirier said of Pico’s potential.
Chael Sonnen says Aaron Pico might be the ‘hardest worker’ in MMA
Pico entered his UFC debut at UFC 319 with a ton of hype.
Once touted as the best prospect in MMA history, the high expectations for Pico fell flat when he hit the canvas after a spinning elbow.
Former UFC title challenger and analyst Chael Sonnen shows his sympathy for Pico, who he claims is one of the hardest working fighters in MMA.
“I have never seen Pico lose a match where there wasn’t a little bit more to the story,” Sonnen said on the UFC post-show.
“I’ve never seen him lose a match where he wasn’t doing well. His shoulder goes out, he gets caught…
“Tonight he takes a spinning elbow. I mean, those are one in a million shots, and they seem to land on Pico.
“I feel very bad for the young man. He is possibly the hardest worker in the entire sport,” Sonnen said of the 13-5 featherweight.