Pico's patient approach delivers 74-second stoppage win at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi

Aaron Pico (15-5) recovered from a first-round knockdown to finish Losene Keita (17-3) via ground-and-pound at 1:14 of the opening round at UFC 333, held Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The featherweight bout came together just over a month before the event after original opponent Arnold Allen withdrew while recovering from previous treatments.

Pico dropped Keita with a sharp right hand before swarming him on the canvas to earn the stoppage — his first finish inside the UFC Octagon. The result extends his winning streak to two, following a victory over Patricio Freire, and marks a significant turnaround after a knockout defeat to Lerone Murphy in his promotional debut last year.

Despite the swift ending, Pico was clear that he had not been hunting a quick finish. Speaking after the fight, he said his conditioning gives him confidence in longer bouts, and that he now treats every minute of Octagon time as a learning opportunity rather than a race to the finish.

“Honestly, the longer the fight goes, the better,” Pico said. “As long as I’m just cooking the fight from the beginning, sticking to my gameplan, I’m not gonna get tired. So the longer it goes, the more fun I’m gonna have, the more experience. But to be honest with you, I’m happy I got out of there early. It’s nice to go home early. Plus I got a flight to catch in a few hours.”

Pico acknowledged that the loss to Murphy prompted a reset in his mindset. Rather than pressing for stoppages, he has worked to adopt what he described as a beginner’s mentality — absorbing experience and trusting his game plan to create opportunities organically. Saturday’s result suggests that recalibration is beginning to bear fruit.

Originally a highly touted prospect during his time in Bellator MMA, Pico’s path to UFC contention has been anything but linear. Back-to-back wins over a former Bellator featherweight champion and a durable veteran like Keita will nonetheless strengthen his case for a step up in competition.