Arman Tsarukyan's coach reveals wrestling strategy behind Mauricio Ruffy win

Arman Tsarukyan had an impressive performance at UFC 331, knocking out Mauricio Ruffy with a first-round elbow. As it turns out, the finish was the result of a carefully planned strategy. According to Marcos "Parrumpinha", one of Tsarukyan's main coaches, the game plan was to use wrestling during the first two rounds to wear down Ruffy's upper body while creating opportunities for takedowns and short-range offense.

Arman Tsarukyan's Goal Was to Wear Down Mauricio Ruffy

Known as arguably one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the lightweight division, Tsarukyan naturally relied on his grappling during the fight. On the other side, Ruffy was expected to defend the takedowns while using his dangerous striking against the Armenian.

However, Tsarukyan's main goal wasn't to secure an early takedown, but rather to pressure Ruffy until he began to lose power in his punches. At the same time, the Armenian was instructed to look for takedowns and create damage with short elbows in close range.

In the end, that was exactly what happened when Tsarukyan knocked Ruffy out with a short elbow late in the opening round. Speaking on the Overdogs Brasil podcast, Parrumpinha revealed that the elbow had been drilled extensively throughout training.

"This was the strategy we came up with: have Arman wrestle in the first and second rounds," Parrumpinha began. "That's normal for Arman. What we didn't want was for him to stand and trade for 10 minutes, because that's Ruffy's territory and that's where Arman would get tired. [...] Once Arman got in on the first takedown and started developing his wrestling, we agreed he would wrestle at about 60 to 70 percent pressure. Don't let him get away. Throw short elbows — that was something he drilled over and over. And if you happen to take him down in the first round, great. We weren't expecting that. What we really wanted was to wear out Ruffy's upper body, because when you do that, you take away his power."

With the impressive performance, Tsarukyan was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus and improved his winning streak to six fights. The Armenian has been campaigning for a title shot after the victory, but he has no date or opponent yet to return to the Octagon.