Ruffy focused before fighting in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/X/UFC
Mauricio Ruffy demonstrated a high level of takedown defense at UFC 331 , but was brutally knocked out by Arman Tsarukyan . Before the fight, fans and experts raised doubts about the Brazilian's grappling skills against a specialist in the field. During the fight, however, Ruffy managed to neutralize the Armenian's takedown attempts, but ended up opening other gaps by focusing excessively on defense, according to analysis by MMA legend Pedro Rizzo.
In an interview with 'PVT', Pedro Rizzo highlighted that an overly defensive posture can cause a fighter to stop attacking and become vulnerable to short punches during the clinch. According to the former fighter, Ruffy managed to defend well against Tsarukyan's takedown attempts, but he also needed to be aware of so-called dirty boxing, with elbows and short punches used in close combat.
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“When you start worrying too much about defense, you become too defensive and stop attacking. So Luffy, in the clinch, was defending very well… 'Hey, don't fall!' But there's the hard boxing, the hard clinch. An elbow comes out, a short punch. That's part of it, you have to know how to defend yourself,” said Pedro Rizzo.
Rizzo also emphasized that the concern about avoiding being taken down cannot override the need to attack during combat. In the veteran's assessment, Luffy managed to prevent Tsarukyan from taking him down, but ended up being hit precisely at a moment when he was focused on defense and unable to respond offensively while the Armenian combined takedown attempts with attacks.
"But you can't let the worry of not falling overshadow your chances of hitting and attacking all the time. I'm not saying that happened to Luffy, but it was an elbow strike when he was defending very well, but he wasn't hitting Tsarukyan, and the guy was trying to take him down and hitting him," the veteran concluded.
Watch Arman Tsarukyan's knockout of Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331.
ARMAN KNOCKS MAURICIO RUFFY OUT COLD!!!
📺 #UFC331 on @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/v7mDUuLQGI
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) September 20, 2026
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