Arman Tsarukyan Lauds Mauricio Ruffy for Elite Striking

Arman Tsarukyan is not shying away from giving Mauricio Ruffy his due flowers. Coming into the UFC 331 co-main event, Tsarukyan was fully aware of Ruffy’s striking potential. Thankfully, he did manage to thwart the danger by taking his own striking game up by a notch. However, as the rivalry has now come to an end, the Armenian star had a lot of positives to talk about. 

In a recent interaction with Ariel Helwani, Tsarukyan analyzed Ruffy’s striking game. Having experienced the power firsthand, ‘Ahalkalakets’ dropped a major statement on the same. He stated that the Brazilian star was the best striker of the lightweight division at the moment. 

Tsarukyan said, “I think Ruffy is the best striker in our division right now… MMA is different. You can bring the best striker, show him wrestling and knock him out because he’s going to focus on the wrestling.”

This is a huge statement considering the big names that are currently active in the UFC lightweight roster. The very first name that comes to mind is Ilia Topuria. Having knocked out the likes of Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, and Alexander Volkanovski, the Spaniard’s striking has looked menacing. Then there is, ofcourse, the champion Justin Gaethje. His vicious punches caused Topuria so much trouble that he was deemed medically unfit to continue. Thus, Tsarukyan’s comments about Ruffy will probably be taken by the UFC fans with a grain of salt. 

Arman Tsarukyan Addresses Pimblett’s Comments About Wrestling 

Paddy Pimblett recently posted on his social media that Tsarukyan does not have very sound wrestling. He also pointed out that landing the elbow spot on was kind of a lucky escape for ‘Ahalkalakets.’ 

‘The Baddy’ stated, “That was a nasty elbow, lad. Gotta give him his due, lad, as. much as I like, and that was a naughty elbow. I thought he looked pretty shit up until the point of the elbow, left eye messed up already. Wish he never landed that, just to see how the second and third would've went.I think that showed holes in his game… His wrestling's not as good as he thinks it is.”

Replying to the same, Tsarukyan said, “Ruffy that night wouldn't beat me anywhere. If not that elbow, the second round could be a submission, and the third round could be a TKO.”