There was a lot of hype surrounding Aaron Pico’s UFC debut after his time spent in Bellator and subsequent departure from the PFL, but Lerone Murphy put an end to things quickly tonight at UFC 319.

In the co-main event at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, Murphy welcomed Pico to the UFC’s featherweight division by delivering a nasty spinning back elbow in the very first round. The strike separated Pico from his senses just 3-minutes in to his promotional debut, resulting in Murphy being declared the winner.

WHAT A KNOCKOUT 🤯@LeroneMurphy just delivered a crazy spinning elbow KO! #UFC319 pic.twitter.com/bMQe5bMTrB

— UFC (@ufc) August 17, 2025

Following the fight, Murphy was quick to call for a title match with Alexander Volkanovski, to which the champion responded promptly with a post to X, indicating that the pair will meet in December. It should be noted that this post was reissued by the UFC’s official X account.

See you in December @LeroneMurphy congrats #ufc319

— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) August 17, 2025