{"id":65672,"date":"2025-06-19T01:35:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T00:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=65672"},"modified":"2025-06-19T01:35:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T00:35:21","slug":"reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Reinier De Ridder vs Robert Whittaker Announced, Movsar Evloev vs Aaron Pico To Decide Who Faces Volkanovski Next!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Aaron Pico, a former Bellator standout and one of MMA&rsquo;s most hyped prospects, is finally stepping into the UFC Octagon. He is known for his explosive striking and world-class wrestling pedigree, and has been viewed as a future star, despite never capturing a title in Bellator or in PFL. His UFC signing in April 2025 marked a pivotal moment, as Pico aims to prove he belongs among the elite in the world&rsquo;s most prestigious MMA promotion.<\/p><p>Pico&rsquo;s debut, scheduled for July 26, 2025, at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi promises to be a defining moment. He is facing a formidable opponent in the co-main event and his transition to UFC is not going to be easy by any means. With a card that is headlined by Robert Whittaker versus Reiner de Ridder, the Etihad Arena will host a night of high-stakes action, highlighting Pico&rsquo;s chance to make an impact right out of the gate in the featherweight division.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pico Faces Undefeated Evloev in Five-Round UFC Bout<\/h2><p>Pico&rsquo;s UFC debut puts him against No.4 ranked featherweight Movsar Evloev in a five-round co-main event, which is a bold matchmaking decision but it also shows the UFC&rsquo;s confidence in his potential. Evloev boats a perfect 19-0 record and has taken down some of the top names in the division including Arnold Allen, Aljamain Sterling, firmly positioning him as a likely title contender against champion Alexander Volkanovski. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Movsar Evloev has accepted a 5 round Co Main event against Aaron Pico&#8252;&#65039;<br><br>July 26th, Abu Dhabi&#128205; <br><br>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JamieTheoMMA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@JamieTheoMMA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/d71n8vbkYC\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/d71n8vbkYC<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpinninBackfist\/status\/1925930986405007770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>May 23, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>UFC&rsquo;s President Dana White praised Pico as a <strong><em>&ldquo;ridiculously violent striker and a very-high level grappler,&rdquo;<\/em><\/strong> noting his status as a top free agent. This matchup underscores the promotion&rsquo;s high expectations, as Pico will now face an undefeated opponent, which could put him in a tough spot. <\/p><p>Pico had called out Sterling and Brian Ortega after signing but was initially rumored to go up against Evloev for May, which fell through. Pico&rsquo;s wrestling background and finishing makes him a dangerous opponent. However, Evloev&rsquo;s grappling-heavy style and his endurance pose a very hard test, with a potential title shot on the line for the Russian. This high-stakes debut could catapult Pico into contention if he wins, or solidify Evloev&rsquo;s path to the featherweight belt even further.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#128483;&#65039; Dana White:<br><br>&ldquo;If Movsar can get the victory [against Pico], he will likely be the next contender for the title against Alexander Volkanovski.&rdquo; &#128064; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EGs3jQ9FPB\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/EGs3jQ9FPB<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChampRDS\/status\/1935349498781516089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>June 18, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aaron Pico, a former Bellator standout and one of MMA&rsquo;s most hyped prospects, is finally stepping into the UFC Octagon. He is known for his explosive striking and world-class wrestling pedigree, and has been viewed as a future star, despite never capturing a title in Bellator or in PFL. His UFC signing in April 2025 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":65675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1783],"tags":[5545,2348,2819,2143,1983,7915],"class_list":["post-65672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mma","tag-aaron-pico","tag-movsar-evloev","tag-reinier-de-ridder","tag-robert-whittaker","tag-ufc","tag-ufc-fight-night-whittaker-vs-de-ridder"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Reinier De Ridder vs Robert Whittaker Announced, Movsar Evloev vs Aaron Pico To Decide Who Faces Volkanovski Next! - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UFC Abu Dhabi features Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder in the main event, with Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico in a co-main bout.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reinier De Ridder vs Robert Whittaker Announced, Movsar Evloev vs Aaron Pico To Decide Who Faces Volkanovski Next! - The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UFC Abu Dhabi features Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder in the main event, with Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico in a co-main bout.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-19T01:35:21+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USATSI_24938380_168416100_lowres.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2549\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1699\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eric Divakaran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/x.com\/EricHar44584857\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eric Divakaran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Eric Divakaran\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/98ac2e1774499fd4d7a7e37d04514940\"},\"headline\":\"Reinier De Ridder vs Robert Whittaker Announced, Movsar Evloev vs Aaron Pico To Decide Who Faces Volkanovski Next!\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-19T00:35:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-19T00:35:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next\/\"},\"wordCount\":395,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USATSI_24938380_168416100_lowres.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Aaron Pico\",\"Movsar Evloev\",\"Reinier de Ridder\",\"Robert Whittaker\",\"UFC\",\"UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. De Ridder\"],\"articleSection\":[\"MMA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/reinier-de-ridder-vs-robert-whittaker-announced-movsar-evloev-vs-aaron-pico-to-decide-who-faces-volkanovski-next\/\",\"name\":\"Reinier De Ridder vs Robert Whittaker Announced, Movsar Evloev vs Aaron Pico To Decide Who Faces Volkanovski Next! 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