Ruffy Stopped Tsarukyan's Takedowns Before Elbow Finish

Mauricio Ruffy neutralized Arman Tsarukyan's wrestling through most of the first round at UFC Los Angeles before a clinch elbow put him away at 4:56.

Tsarukyan stopped the Brazilian lightweight on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena after Ruffy successfully defended multiple takedown attempts. The finish, which came off a break from the clinch, handed Ruffy his second UFC loss and bolstered Tsarukyan's case for a lightweight title shot.

Ruffy's Takedown Defense Forced Tsarukyan to Adjust

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Pedro Rizzo told Sherdog that Ruffy's defensive focus left him vulnerable to the clinch attack. "When you start worrying too much about defense, you become too defensive and stop attacking," Rizzo said. "You have to give their strategy credit. That combination of the clinch and the elbow caught Ruffy by surprise."

Renato Moicano, who trains alongside Tsarukyan at American Top Team, said the Armenian lightweight adapted after his wrestling was shut down. Moicano told Sherdog that Tsarukyan grew desperate as his takedowns failed and his eye began swelling, but kept his composure and switched to feints before landing the fight-ending elbow in the clinch.

Moicano was scheduled to fight Brian Ortega on the same card but saw that bout scrapped after Ortega withdrew with a cut. He faces Tom Nolan later this year.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Ruffy stopped Tsarukyan’s takedowns; then Arman found another way