According to UFC newcomer Aaron Pico, Jean Silva's destruction of Bryce Mitchell is enough to warrant a title shot.
The featherweight gold returned to Alexander Volkanovski at this past weekend's UFC 314 pay-per-view, which was headlined by a clash for the belt vacated by Ilia Topuria.
To begin a fresh reign on the 145-pound throne, Volkanovski got the better of charging contender Diego Lopes across five rounds in Miami. And though the Australian's victory is just days old, it hasn't taken long for focus to turn to what could await him next.
For many, that should be a showdown with the undefeated Movsar Evloev, who has beaten Lopes, Arnold Allen, and Aljamain Sterling consecutively to stake his claim.
During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, however, Pico pointed to another figure in the featherweight top 15 as a more "exciting" option for the UFC and "Alexander the Great."
Honestly, I think Jean Silva," Pico said. "He's 5-0 in the UFC with five finishes. I wouldn't be surprised if he got the title shot. He put on a great performance (at UFC 314). The crowd loved him and he's starting to get a lot of fans. And I think he's very exciting.
Movsar is a great fighter, of course. But I think to the fans, it's very, very boring," Pico added.
Silva continued his surge up the ladder on MMA's biggest stage at UFC 314 by choking out the controversial Mitchell on the main card.
With significant hype behind his name, perhaps "Lord" could be in for a shock rise to title challenger next time out.