Tsarukyan knocked out Ruffy in the UFC. Photo: Getty Images/Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/The Los Angeles Daily News
Last Saturday (19), in California (USA), Mauricio Ruffy suffered a tough defeat. In the co-main event of UFC 331 , the Brazilian was brutally knocked out by Arman Tsarukyan in the first round and, thus, saw his chance to join the top-5 of the lightweight division (up to 70,3 kg) vanish. It is true that, despite the shocking outcome, many approved of the athlete's performance, but not Ray Longo, the renowned coach.
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During an appearance on the 'Anik & Florian' podcast , Chris Weidman 's mentor criticized Ruffy , mainly for his careless attitude. It's worth noting that after frustrating Tsarukyan by successfully defending against takedown attempts, the Brazilian was surprised by elbows in the clinch and ended up being knocked out with four seconds remaining in the first round.
In his analysis, Longo acknowledged Ruffy's quality and made it clear that he hopes he recovers from the tough blow. At the same time, the veteran indicates that the Brazilian was exposed and emphasizes that, from now on, he will no longer be so feared by his opponents, since he was easily submitted by Benoit Saint Denis and now knocked out by Tsarukyan.
“It seemed like the fight was going in Luffy’s favor, but you can’t let your guard down. We’ve seen this happen a few times. With ten seconds left, some people think, ‘Oh, it’s only ten seconds. Nobody’s going to do anything.’ That’s unacceptable. How can anyone do that? A crucial mistake. You need to be constantly alert during the fight.”
“I can’t believe it. It’s like he thought, ‘Ten seconds left, I’ll just let the time run out. Nothing’s going to happen.’ And suddenly, he’s on the ground. He was only worried about not being taken down and had no respect for anything else. Now, he’s already been submitted and knocked out.”
“He’s a very talented guy and, depending on his state of mind, he’ll come back and learn from this, but wow! These defeats diminish Luffy’s aura. Opponents gain more confidence. Now, they know his chin could be a target if hit and they think, ‘If I can take him down, I have a chance to finish him off.’ That gives hope to his opponents.”
“Without that defeat, if he had finished the fight with another spinning kick or a punch, the myth would have grown, and that becomes part of beating a guy even before he steps into the octagon. Now, that’s taken out of the equation, making guys aware that if they land a punch on his chin, they can probably knock him out.”
“I think it’s something very important. I’ve seen fights with countless elbows and it was carnage, something bloody, but nobody was knocked out. So, I don’t know if this is a good sign for Luffy.”
Watch Tsarukyan's knockout of 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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