Borralho On Tsarukyan Knockout Of Ruffy
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Caio Borralho warned that Arman Tsarukyan would get knocked out if he chose to strike with Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331, but the middleweight got his prediction backwards.
Tsarukyan stopped Ruffy with a walk-off elbow in the co-main event Saturday in Los Angeles, as MMA Fighting first reported. The finish came at 4:57 of the opening round after Tsarukyan controlled long stretches with clinch work and survived an early wobble from a Ruffy counter right. Tsarukyan landed his elbow in close quarters and Ruffy collapsed instantly, prompting the referee to wave off the fight while Tsarukyan walked away with his arms raised.
🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to UFC 331 on Ticketmaster →
What Borralho Got Right About Ruffy's Power
Borralho, who trained with Ruffy before the Brazilian left for new coaching, had praised the lightweight's finishing threat ahead of the bout. "I think Ruffy has the one-shot knockout power that he can turn off anyone in the division," Borralho told MMA Fighting. "I think if Arman wants to strike him, even if it's a little bit, he's going to get knocked out." Borralho added that Tsarukyan's best path was to wrestle the first two or three rounds and drain Ruffy's gas tank, calling it "a 50-50 fight."
Ruffy entered the bout on a hot streak, having floored Rafael Fiziev and Michael Chandler with violent knockouts in 2026, per BJ Penn. Tsarukyan brought a five-fight win streak that included victories over Charles Oliveira and Dan Hooker. The Armenian spent months competing in wrestling and grappling matches outside the cage before accepting the Ruffy assignment.
🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to UFC 331 on Ticketmaster →
Tsarukyan improved to 23-3 and staked his claim for a lightweight title shot in 2027. Ruffy falls to 14-2 after his first UFC loss by knockout.
Photo: inFocus media / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Original reporting:
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