Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy Set for UFC 331 After Oliveira Withdraws

A reshuffled main event will headline UFC 331 on September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, with Arman Tsarukyan now set to face Mauricio Ruffy after Charles Oliveira withdrew from the card. The bout streams on Paramount+.

Oliveira pulled out following the death of his longtime teammate Allan Nascimento, the UFC flyweight who compiled a 22-7 professional record and was 34 years old at the time of his passing. Oliveira, 36, is ranked third in the lightweight division and 11th on the pound-for-pound list, carrying a career record of 37-11. The Brazilian southpaw out of Chute Boxe Diego Lima is one of the most decorated submission artists in UFC history, averaging 2.6 submission attempts per 15 minutes across his career alongside 2.22 takedowns per 15 minutes and a striking accuracy of 54 percent.

Ruffy steps into the main event off the back of consecutive TKO victories, most recently stopping Michael Chandler. Chandler, a 40-year-old American veteran with a record of 23-11, averaged an aggressive 4.04 significant strikes landed per minute across his career and had long been considered one of the division's most explosive performers.

Tsarukyan enters the September card as a substantial favorite.

Why it matters

• Oliveira's withdrawal reshapes the lightweight picture, removing a top-three contender from a high-profile main event slot.
• Ruffy's back-to-back TKO wins over ranked opposition have rapidly elevated his profile, and a main event appearance against Tsarukyan represents a significant step up in visibility.
• The style matchup pits Tsarukyan's well-rounded game against a finisher building momentum, with legitimate lightweight title implications depending on the outcome.