Aaron Pico claims Alexander Volkanovski "has it coming" ahead of highly anticipated UFC debut: "He’s never fought a high-level wrestler like me"

Aaron Pico has not wasted any time making his intentions clear in the UFC. The former Bellator standout enters the promotion with a decorated wrestling pedigree and wants to test it against divisional champion Alexander Volkanovski.

While his debut at UFC 319 against Lerone Murphy is his immediate concern, Pico has already outlined why he believes a meeting with the champion is inevitable.

He respects the Australian fighter’s resume but insists the champion has yet to share the cage with a wrestler of his caliber. Talking about a potential clash against Volkanovski at the UFC 319 pre-fight media scrum, Pico said:

"I'm the new guy in this organization, and I'm just going to be up front and to have his attention, that's a good thing. But I have to take care of Lerone Murphy. That's all I'm focused on. But, Volkanovski, you know, has it coming. He's not an easy guy to fight, and I'm aware of that. I look at who he's fought as far as the high-level wrestlers; he's never fought a high-level wrestler like me, and your time is coming."

He added:

"Yeah, that's really exciting [a potential fight against Volkanovski]. It's a guy that gets me out of bed in the morning. Every practice that I would go to, I mean, he would be on my mind. I want to fight Volkanovski one day. And it's actually music to my ears for him to say, "Yeah."

Check out Aaron Pico's comments below (19:25):

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Alexander Volkanovski is confident he would dominate Aaron Pico in potential clash

Alexander Volkanovski recently gave a blunt response to Aaron Pico’s calls for a potential fight. The featherweight champion dismissed Pico’s chances of dethroning him by asserting confidence in his wrestling skills.

Pico, making his UFC debut at UFC 319 against Lerone Murphy, has suggested the winner could fight Volkanovski next. While acknowledging Pico’s wrestling pedigree, Volkanovski stated that previous training and fights with heavier wrestlers have prepared him for such challenges.

Shedding light on Pico's challenge in a recent interview with Fox Sports Australia, Volkanovski said:

"It excites me because I reckon I'd crumble him in the wrestling department. He might be good for one takedown, two takedowns, if he even gets me down, I'm straight back up. Watch him not want to clinch up anymore after that. His best bet is to obviously try and land a big shot. Other than that, I mop the floor with him."