Arman Tsarukyan

UFC CEO Dana White declined to designate the Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy co-main event at UFC 331 as an official number-one contender bout, saying he prefers to wait until the fight is finished before making any such declaration. Both Tsarukyan and Ruffy have publicly claimed the winner will be next in line for Justin Gaethje's lightweight title. UFC 331, headlined by a flyweight title rematch between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja, takes place September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

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Arman Tsarukyan is working with kickboxing legend Giorgio Petrosyan in the final stage of his training camp ahead of his fight against Mauricio Ruffy. Petrosyan, who holds a professional record of 109 wins and 3 losses across a 23-year career that included a 42-fight winning streak, is focusing specifically on helping Tsarukyan sharpen his timing against Ruffy's striking. Tsarukyan is also sparring with PFL Latvia-based fighter Alexander Chizov as part of his camp preparation.

Ruffy

The Real American Fighter (RAF) wrestling league has announced matchups across three upcoming events. Khamzat Chimaev meets Tyron Woodley and Abdulrashid Sadulaev faces Braunagel at RAF Moscow on September 5, while Kyle Snyder takes on Tazhudinov and Nikal meets Muradov on the same card. Colby Covington vs. Belal Muhammad and Luke Rockhold vs. Pifer are set for RAF 13 in Miami on September 18, with Arman Tsarukyan vs. Denis scheduled for RAF 14 in Las Vegas on October 23.

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Charles Oliveira has no fight booked and has not yet begun negotiations with the UFC, according to his manager and head coach Diego Lima. The BMF titleholder recently returned to training following the death of teammate Allan Nascimento and is targeting a return before the end of 2026, likely on a November or December numbered event. Oliveira's preferred next fight is a rematch with lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, though Lima also identified Arman Tsarukyan and Diego Lopes as strong potential opponents if a title shot is not immediately available.

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Mauricio Ruffy meets Arman Tsarukyan in the co-main event of UFC 331 on September 19 in Los Angeles, with a lightweight title shot on the line for the winner. Ruffy, who has finished 13 of his 14 MMA victories by knockout — including stoppages of Michael Chandler, Rafael Fiziev, and King Green — acknowledges the grappling threat Tsarukyan presents but says he has pushed himself outside his comfort zone in preparation. The Brazilian knockout artist maintains his plan remains to put his opponent away and use the result to cement his place in the title conversation.

Ruffy

Usman Nurmagomedov has revealed that his team submitted a contract request to PFL/MVP worth more than $2 million per fight, with negotiations still ongoing and a 90-day window yet to expire. The undefeated lightweight champion said the process is being handled by his representative Ali Abdelaziz and that he is waiting to hear PFL's vision for his future. Nurmagomedov also pushed back on Arman Tsarukyan's suggestion that he would lose if he moved to the UFC, noting that Tsarukyan himself lost his UFC debut to Islam Makhachev.

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