Four seconds from the end of the opening round, an elbow thrown at 4:56 put the lightweight division's number one back in the title race. In the co-main event of UFC 331 in Los Angeles, Arman Tsarukyan switched off Mauricio Ruffy, a finisher with 13 knockouts to his name, with one devastating combination. The winner vaulted over the cage wall, shook Dana White's hand and mimed a champion's belt around his waist, leaving no doubt about his next target. Ever since the injury of January 2025 wrecked his shot at the title, the UFC president had refused to hand Tsarukyan another one. "He had his chance and we all saw what happened. Now he has to carve the road out again. I don't care what the rankings say," the organisation's boss insisted.
Yet against Ruffy, whose 14 wins include 13 knockouts, Tsarukyan improved his record to 24-3 and claimed a sixth straight victory. "I needed a knockout for my next title fight, and I knew exactly that I would finish him," the winner explained. Tellingly, one emphatic performance answered every question the management had.
