Lopez On Ruffy's Defensive Wrestling For Tsarukyan

Mauricio Ruffy's coach Joe Lopez believes his fighter has the scrambling ability to neutralize Arman Tsarukyan's wrestling when the two lightweights meet in the UFC 331 co-main event.

Ruffy faces the top-ranked contender in what could be a title eliminator for Tsarukyan, who is widely expected to challenge Justin Gaethje for the belt next if he wins. Lopez told Submission Radio that Ruffy's defensive wrestling has improved dramatically since joining the team at City Kickboxing, where he trains alongside Alexander Volkanovski, Frank Hickman, and Brad Riddell.

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Ruffy's Scrambling Work With Volkanovski

"You can just see how he's improving," Lopez said, per MMA Junkie. "For this fight here, that's one of our specialties is our defensive wrestling and our scrambles and not accepting the position. Honestly, he's picking it up."

Lopez said Ruffy has shed the jiu-jitsu habit of attaching to opponents on the ground and now focuses on hand placement and body positioning to create separation. The daily work against elite wrestlers has made it difficult for his training partners to hold him down, Lopez noted.

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"Arman's in for a fight," Lopez said. "It's not going to be he's going to hold Ruffy down for five rounds and make it ugly. I can't see that happening."

The UFC 331 co-main event is set to test whether Ruffy's wrestling defense has developed enough to handle a legitimate title contender.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Joe Lopez looks ahead to Mauricio Ruffy’s clash with Arman Tsarukyan