Mauricio Ruffy says a win over Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 331 sends him straight into a lightweight title fight, staking a claim to an opportunity that was reportedly already promised to his opponent.
The two meet in a five-round co-main event on September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, a booking the UFC announced Wednesday. It sits beneath a flyweight title rematch between champion Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja on a 13-fight UFC 331 lineup.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reported that UFC brass had told Tsarukyan he would receive a shot at Justin Gaethje’s lightweight championship if he got past Ruffy. No such guarantee has been made public regarding Ruffy, which makes the Brazilian’s response worth reading closely.
Winning this fight takes us straight to the title,” Ruffy said in a video posted to his social media. “I don’t feel pressure at all. I’m going there for the knockout, I don’t want to leave the octagon without that result.
Why Charles Oliveira Came Off The Card
Tsarukyan had been expected to rematch Charles Oliveira, who lost to him by split decision at UFC 300 in April 2024. Oliveira withdrew this week following the death of his longtime Chute Boxe Diego Lima teammate Allan Nascimento.
The UFC announced Monday that Nascimento died at 34 after an apparent heart attack in his sleep. Oliveira, who regularly cornered him, called him a brother in an Instagram tribute and spoke at his funeral on Wednesday.
Mauricio Ruffy Has Six Weeks And A Ranking To Defend
Ruffy, 30, sits at 14-2 with 13 wins by knockout and has rebounded from his lone UFC defeat, a September 2025 submission loss to Benoit Saint Denis, with stoppages of Rafael Fiziev and Michael Chandler at UFC Freedom 250. The Fiziev win lifted him five spots into the top 10.
Meanwhile, Tsarukyan carries a five-fight win streak but hasn’t fought in the Octagon since submitting Dan Hooker in Qatar in November 2025, spending the layoff in freestyle wrestling matches. His path stalled after he pulled out of a UFC 311 title fight with Islam Makhachev on weigh-in day in January 2025.
![TIME TO MAKE A STATEMENT 👀
@ArmanUFC will face @RuffyMMA in the #CryptoCom #UFC331 co-main event!
[ Tickets on sale TODAY | LIVE SEP 19 at @CryptoComArena ] https://t.co/Btv93H0Mfl](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HO_o7JhbkAAmDS4?format=jpg&name=small)
