Arman Tsarukyan Finds First Round Victory Over Mauricio Ruffy In UFC 331 Co-Main
Arman Tsarukyan had the crowd inside the CRYPTO.com Arena on their feet while he put his striking skills on full display versus Mauricio Ruffy, knocking the Brazilian out cold with a devastating pair of elbows in the very first round.
When going against such a talented striking threat like Ruffy, who holds recent knockout victories over Rafael Fiziev and Michael Chandler, most had thought Tsarukyan would focus on utilizing his grappling advantage. But he didn’t even need to take things to the ground, as the Armenian found the perfect opening to secure the victory near the end of the opening five minutes while on his feet.
As the pair approached the final seconds of the first round, Tsarukyan stepped forward to initiate one last takedown attempt, but quickly abandoned the level change and delivered an elbow that connected flush with his opponent’s jaw, immediately separating Ruffy from his senses. The Armenian delivered one more elbow to his opponent while on the way down, but it was clear the fight was over after the first shot.
Following the victory, Tsarukyan expressed that no match for his next outing makes sense except a shot at the lightweight title, currently held by Justin Gaethje. Given his recent run in the UFC, and having not lost a match since 2022, at this point it would be hard to argue that Tsarukyan is not the No. 1 contender at 155-pounds.
GIVE ARMAN TSARUKYAN THE TITLE SHOT!!pic.twitter.com/IawZ8HpwWR
— MMA On Point (@mmaonpoint) September 20, 2026
UFC 331 Full Card Results
Main:
Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja via Decision (Unanimous) – 49-46, 49-47, 50-45
Arman Tsarukyan def. Mauricio Ruffy via knockout (Elbows) – Round 1, 4:56
Patricio Freire def. Dooho Choi via knockout (Punches) – Round 1, 3:28
Sean Sharaf def. Gable Steveson via knockout (Punches) – Round 1, 0:12
Alonzo Menifield def. Iwo Baraniewski via Decision (Split) – 29-28, 28-29, 29-28Preliminary:
Marlon Vera def. Charles Jourdain via TKO (Punches) – Round 3, 2:02
Robelis Despaigne def. Tai Tuivasa via Decision (Split) – 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Michael Aswell def. JooSang Yoo via Decision (Split) – 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Ryan Gandra def. Ozzy Diaz via knockout (Punches) – Round 1, 2:04
Edmen Shahbazyan def. Brunno Ferreira via Decision (Unanimous) – 29-28, 29-28, 30-27
Casey O’Neill def. Eduarda Moura via Submission (Armbar) – Round 1, 3:22
Joanderson Brito def. Giga Chikadze via Knockout (Punches) – Round 1, 1:57