Aaron Pico made a statement in the UFC featherweight division, stopping Losene Keita with a devastating first-round knockout just 74 seconds into their main-card bout at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. Pico immediately looks to use his wrestling, shooting for a single-leg takedown and briefly taking Keita to the canvas. However, Keita manages to work his way back to his feet, giving both fighters another opportunity to exchange strikes.
Keita attempts to respond, but Pico soon finds the opening he needed.
Pico immediately connects with a powerful straight right hand that sends Keita crashing to the canvas. Recognising that his opponent was badly hurt, Pico follows him down and unleashes a series of ground-and-pound strikes.
Keita struggles to recover under the pressure, and the referee steps in to stop the contest at 1:14 of the opening round.
It was a decisive finish that showcases Pico’s ability to combine his wrestling background with his striking rather than relying on one approach alone. The knockout marked another important step in Pico’s UFC career. After suffering a knockout defeat to Lerone Murphy in his promotional debut, the former Bellator standout bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Patricio Pitbull at UFC 327 in April.
Against Keita, Pico demonstrated a more decisive finishing performance, ending the contest in just over a minute. Following the victory, Pico expressed his desire to face higher-ranked featherweights and reiterated his championship ambitions. He also called for a rematch with Murphy if a title opportunity was not available.
“Honestly it feels amazing,’ Pico said about his win. “I’ve been wrestling since I was four years old. I told my coaches after this fight he going to wish he put on he wrestling shoes since he was four years old.“I want a rematch with Lerone Murphy … I want to make money, I want to get to the title.”
Daniel Santos Edges Bolaji Oki
Santos starts aggressively, moving forward and looking to close the distance against the taller Oki. Santos uses his reach advantage to work behind the jab, mixing in body shots and low kicks to keep the Brazilian from settling into his preferred range.
Santos gradually finds openings with his combinations, landing solid punches as he presses forward.
During one exchange, Oki attempts a guillotine choke, but Santos escapes the position and continues attacking. The grappling exchanges remain important as the round progresses. Oki manages to put Santos on the canvas and works from top position, landing knees to the body and punches before the horn sounds.
Both fighters have their moments in an opening round.
Santos continues to press forward in the second round, looking for opportunities to mix his striking with takedowns. An early single-leg attempt does not produce the result he wants, but he keeps working to close the distance.
When Oki attempts to wrestle, Santos reverses the position and gets on top. He brings the fight to the canvas again, using his wrestling to disrupt Oki’s rhythm and control portions of the action.
The fight returns to the feet, where Santos connects with hooks and a spinning backfist. Oki responds with a knee and a right hand, refusing to let the Brazilian dictate every exchange.
Santos then lands a sharp knee up the middle late in the round, providing one of the more noticeable moments of the contest.
Oki enters the final round looking to make his longer reach count.
He increases his use of the jab and connects with a left hook while Santos continues attacking the legs and trying to move into punching range. Oki also finds opportunities to wrestle, taking Santos down during an exchange. Santos works his way back to his feet, keeping the fight competitive as both men continue to look for decisive moments.
Oki then lands a body kick that visibly hurts Santos and follows up with punches. Santos responds with a spinning elbow, and another spinning elbow helps interrupt Oki’s continued pressure.
After three competitive rounds, the judges award Santos the unanimous decision victory, with all three scorecards reading 29-28.
The result gives Santos a welcome return to the win column after his second-round TKO loss to Doo Ho Choi in May. For Oki, the defeat is another setback as he competes at featherweight after previously fighting at lightweight.
Santos also dedicates the victory to his late teammate Allan Nascimento, whose death in August deeply affected the Chute Boxe Diego Lima team. The emotional moment adds significance to a victory Santos has to work hard to earn inside the Octagon.
