Aaron Pico on facing unranked Losene Keita at UFC 333: 'I just roll with the punches'

Aaron Pico says he never thought twice about taking an unranked opponent on Saturday's UFC 333 card. The American featherweight, who was originally booked against top-10 contender Arnold Allen, now faces Belgium's Losene Keita on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, and he explained his reasoning in an interview with MMA Fighting's Damon Martin published on Thursday, October 22.

Allen withdrew from the bout in September. MMA Fighting's Mike Heck reported at the time that Allen had been "rehabbing from past treatments, but not enough time between now and Abu Dhabi to be ready to fight." Keita, fresh off a first-round knockout of Muhammad Naimov at UFC Paris, stepped in.

"I just roll with the punches"

Pico, 30, said a ranked opponent is not his priority when the goal is a title.

"I just roll with the punches," Pico told MMA Fighting. "What am I ranked in the UFC? No. 12 or something like that? I'm not even sure. All I'm focused on is being a champion. That's what I'm focused on. So whoever I have to fight."

"A lot of guys are like, 'I need to protect this, I need to fight a guy that's above me.' I have a different approach. If I'm not champion, then I just need to fight whoever. Even when you are champion, you're fighting the best guys in the world. It doesn't really matter to me. I'm focused on getting to the top. I'm taking this as a new challenge."

He said that mindset is preparation for title defenses down the line: "One day when I am champion, and they're like, 'you're fighting a guy with a lot of power in his hands.' OK, no problem. We know what our playbook is. We know what we need to do and we just need the reps."

"Every fight is dangerous"

Pico also said he is not overlooking Keita. "Every fight is dangerous," he said. "I don't care if you're fighting a guy off the street that has no experience. There's always a puncher's chance. I take every fight serious. I've lost before, so I know how crucial any one bad decision in the cage can cost you."

Keita, a former OKTAGON champion, lost a decision to Nathaniel Wood on his UFC debut in London in March before the Paris knockout. He told UFC.com that he had asked for the winner of Pico vs Allen after that win. "Then I got the call, 'Allen is out. You want to fight?' I said, 'Of course, I want to fight.' So, I manifested this fight," Keita said. Cageside Press listed the records as Pico 14-5 and Keita 17-2 when the change was announced.

Ready if the main event needs him

UFC 333 is headlined by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski's title defense against unbeaten Movsar Evloev. Pico said sharing the card with Volkanovski is an honor and made clear he would be available.

"He's the best featherweight of all time. I don't know how many more fights he has left, but to be on a card with him is an honor," Pico said. "Of course, if anything happens in the main event, I'll be there. I would love to fight for the title, but I'm just solely focused on this guy."

Fight details

• Aaron Pico vs Losene Keita, featherweight, UFC 333
• Saturday, October 24, 2026, Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi
• Main event: Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev for the UFC featherweight title
• Co-main event: Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight title