Mauricio Ruffy reveals UFC 331 win over Arman Tsarukyan comes with title-shot promise
Mauricio Ruffy confirmed the title-shot reward on the line when he faces Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 331.
The MMA community has been debating the stakes of the Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy fight, set for five rounds as the co-main event at UFC 331. Many are questioning whether the winner gets the title shot against lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. Now Ruffy has cleared the doubt and finally answered.
Mauricio Ruffy confirms Arman Tsarukyan fight is for the next UFC lightweight title shot
Much of the discussion has centered around Tsarukyan. He had been sidelined after withdrawing from his scheduled title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311. However, he returned to face Dan Hooker. He submitted the veteran in the second round in November, leading many to believe the victory was enough to earn him another title shot.
However, Dana White previously revealed that Tsarukyan's headbutt of Hooker played a role in the UFC's decision not to give him an immediate title opportunity. As a result, the Armenian now has to work his way back up the division and earn another shot at the belt.
Tsarukyan is now set to face Ruffy, and many believe a victory would put him in position for a title shot. However, the same was not necessarily expected for Ruffy. Many felt that even if the Brazilian defeated Tsarukyan at UFC 331, he would be sent back to the drawing board and would need to win another fight before earning a title opportunity.
In his recent appearance on ‘Main Event TV ’, the Brazilian was asked whether the winner of UFC 331's co-main event would receive the next lightweight title shot. Ruffy responded with a brief but definitive answer.
“That's the agreement with the UFC," Ruffy said.
Check out Mauricio Ruffy’s comments below:
UFC 331 will decide who gets the title shot, and the stakes have been raised. The two men in the co-main event will leave everything they have on the line to secure victory and earn the title shot.
That, Tsarukyan vows to get the job done quickly; interestingly, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has warned him about the danger of Ruffy.
Michael Bisping tells Arman Tsarukyan how to avoid Mauricio Ruffy’s striking threat
In the Jaxxon Podcast, Bisping highlights Ruffy’s incredible victory over Michael Chandler to warn Tsarukyan of the danger the Brazilian possesses inside the octagon. And insists on the Armenian fight on his strength rather than fighting the Brazilian fight.
"He (Arman Tsarukyan) can't do what Michael Chandler did. And what happened? Ruffy picked him (Michael Chandler) apart the whole time; punished him, caught him in the knees, caught him and just obliterated him; made it look easy. Because Chandler didn't play to his strengths,” Bisping said.
Bisping also emphasized that Tsarukyan should believe in his striking and use them to secure a takedown.
"Arman's got to be humble enough to say, right, okay, listen, all fights start on the feet. You gotta throw some shots. Just like you saw with Mackenzie Dern, punching into the takedown. He's got to do that. He's gotta believe in his hands. But he's gotta know for sure he's gotta use his wrestling in the fight," Bisping added.
Check out Michael Bisping's comments below:
