Mauricio Ruffy opens up about his training with MMA great Alexander Volkanovski for UFC 331

Mauricio Ruffy is believed to be pulling out all the stops in his preparations for his upcoming fight. 

The striking maestro's next opponent is Arman Tsarukyan, who's regarded as one of the most skilled wrestlers and grappling experts in MMA today.

Considering that, Ruffy has touched upon his training with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who's helping him prepare for the grappling offensive that he's likely to face against Tsarukyan. 

Mauricio Ruffy speaks about his training with Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC 331 matchup against Arman Tsarukyan

In the UFC 331 Countdown episode, on the UFC's official YouTube channel, Mauricio Ruffy was shown training at the Freestyle MMA gym in Wollongong, Australia, alongside Australian MMA icon Alexander Volkanovski. 

It's noteworthy that Volkanovski is counted among the most well-rounded combatants in the sport of mixed martial arts. "The Great" is often hailed for possessing exceptional striking skills as well as an incredible grappling arsenal. 

Ruffy, on his part, alluded to the significance of wrestling and overall grappling training for his imminent clash against Arman Tsarukyan. Praising Volkanovski for aiding his preparations for the Tsarukyan matchup, the Brazilian fighter stated: 

"For me, it's a huge privilege to be able to train here in Australia. Ever since the day I came here, I've been really dedicated to wrestling. I've just been learning a lot from 'Volk.' 'Volk' is the kind of guy you learn from just by being there with him." 

Intriguingly, a number of fans and experts, including Tsarukyan, have lately admitted that Ruffy poses a major threat to any opponent in the striking department. Seemingly echoing similar sentiments, he said: 

"All the fans who follow MMA know that if he (Arman Tsarukyan) stays on his feet with me, he's going to get knocked out. So I know what I need to do to win the fight. I need to defend against the takedowns and knock him out." 

Watch Mauricio Ruffy heap praise on Alexander Volkanovski and discuss his upcoming fight against Arman Tsarukyan below (*comments at the 20:12-minute mark of the video): 

Mauricio Ruffy eyes a huge jump in the rankings, title shot, with win over Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 331

Presently, Mauricio Ruffy holds the No. 10 position in the UFC lightweight division, per the official Meta UFC rankings. Arman Tsarukyan is at the No. 2 spot on that list. The consensus is that with reigning UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje looking at a return sometime next year, the Tsarukyan-Ruffy fight's winner could face him for the lightweight title. 

On the contrary, certain sections of the MMA community have argued that neither Tsarukyan nor Ruffy would earn a title shot against Gaethje, who they believe could defend his lightweight belt in a rematch against Ilia Topuria, or perhaps against Charles Oliveira. 

Regardless, Ruffy has consistently maintained that he's confident about not only beating Tsarukyan, but also about possibly getting a lightweight title shot against Gaethje.

Some skeptics have questioned whether Ruffy would be able to defend Tsarukyan's relentless takedowns and keep the fight standing. A representative of the Fighting Nerds gym in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Ruffy has, as such, ramped up his grappling training with Alexander Volkanovski.

Furthermore, Volkanovski is also training for his next fight, a UFC featherweight title defense against Movsar Evloev. The Volkanovski vs. Evloev clash will headline UFC 333 on October 24.