Arman Tsarukyan reveals emotional reason for wanting quick finish against Mauricio Ruffy

Arman Tsarukyan plans to make quick work of Mauricio Ruffy as the two are scheduled to throw down in the co-main event at UFC 331 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on September 19. 

The bout is scheduled for a five-round battle, and both fighters will have 25 minutes to secure a victory. However, the Armenian has no intention of spending that much time inside the octagon.

He vows to finish quickly and reveals an emotional reason for his desire to get the job done as soon as possible.

Arman Tsarukyan has emotional motivation to finish Mauricio Ruffy early at UFC 331

Tsarukyan was recently interviewed by ex-UFC fighter and now-turned analyst Chael Sonnen for UFC on Paramount+. He was asked if he needed all five rounds to get the victory. 

The Armenian star asserted that he plans to finish Ruffy quickly and explained the reason. He revealed that his father, Nairi Tsarukyan, will be watching the fight from home, and he doesn't want him to spend too much time worrying about his son.

“I don't need 25 minutes. I'm going there and make it job easy and quick,” Tsarukyan said. “So, because my dad back at home… I don't want him to be nervous, you know, so long. I want to make it as soon as possible and quick.”

Often, fighters want to finish their opponents quickly and in impressive fashion to earn a Performance of the Night bonus, establish themselves as a threat, or position themselves for a title shot. However, Tsarukyan's motivation comes from wanting to spare his father the stress of watching him compete.

In Tsarukyan's most recent UFC outing against  Dan Hooker in Qatar last November, his father was seated cageside. As soon as Tsarukyan submitted Hooker, his father entered the octagon to celebrate his son's victory. During the celebration, he even attempted to take down Tsarukyan's coach, and the hilarious moment quickly went viral on the internet.

Arman Tsarukyan says Mauricio Ruffy is more dangerous than Charles Oliveira 

Tsarukyan was expected to face former UFC lightweight champion and current BMF titleholder Charles Oliveira in a five-round, non-title fight. However, he revealed that Oliveira withdrew from the planned rematch following the passing of his close teammate, UFC flyweight fighter Allan Nascimento.

Tsarukyan was then offered Ruffy as a replacement for the UFC 331 co-main event, and he accepted the challenge because he wanted to remain active.

In the aforementioned interview, Sonnen asked Tsarukyan which matchup would have been better for him: Oliveira or Ruffy. The 29-year-old stated that Ruffy is the more dangerous opponent because of his knockout power.

“Ruffy is more dangerous. He (Ruffy) has, like, powerful hands. But, like, Oliveira, he has only grappling. He cannot knock me out. He cannot choke me. So there is no chances to Oliveira beat me." Tsarukyan said.

Check out Arman Tsarukyan's comments below: