Mauricio Ruffy says he was seconds away from taking over the fight against Arman Tsarukyan. 👀 Even though he got knocked out with just four seconds left in the opening round at UFC 331, Ruffy is convinced the outcome would have flipped in round two: “I could feel it. I felt the fight was in my control. I felt his strength was fading, he was hurt, and his eye was closing up. I was sure I would finish the fight in the second round.”
Mauricio Ruffy has broken his silence following his knockout loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 331, insisting that the fight was trending in his favor before the stoppage came with just four seconds remaining in round one.
Ruffy, 30, made the bold claim that Tsarukyan was visibly fading and damaged as the opening round drew to a close. The Brazilian lightweight said he could feel the Russian's strength draining, noticed his eye beginning to close, and was fully confident he would have finished the fight in the second round had it gotten there. Instead, the bout ended in the closing moments of the first, leaving Ruffy to wonder what might have been.
The loss drops the seventh-ranked lightweight to 14-3-0. Fighting out of The Fighting Nerds camp, Ruffy has built a reputation as a sharp striker — he connects on an impressive 56 percent of his significant strikes and lands nearly four significant strikes per minute, among the better marks in the division. Standing five-foot-eleven with a 75-inch reach, he carries notable physical advantages over many opponents at 155 pounds.
Tsarukyan, ranked second in the lightweight division at 24-3-0, is one of the most complete fighters in the weight class. The 29-year-old from Russia brings relentless pressure, mixing a striking output of 3.78 significant strikes per minute with an elite takedown rate of 3.25 per 15 minutes while training out of American Top Team. The finish extended his standing as a genuine title contender.
Why it matters
- Ruffy's version of events raises questions about momentum and timing in a fight that ended in extraordinary fashion
- Despite the loss, Ruffy's ranking at seventh keeps him inside the lightweight top ten, meaning his next matchup carries real divisional weight
- The style contrast — Ruffy's pure striking game against Tsarukyan's well-rounded pressure — made for a compelling matchup on paper, and Ruffy's comments suggest he believes the blueprint was working before the stoppage
