Ruffy stopped Tsarukyan’s takedowns; then Arman found another way

Arman Tsarukyan stopped Mauricio Ruffy with a first-round elbow strike at 4:56 on September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, delivering a stunning technical adjustment after Ruffy had successfully frustrated Tsarukyan's wrestling attacks. The victory strengthened Tsarukyan's standing in the lightweight title picture and handed Ruffy his second UFC loss.

Former heavyweight title challenger Pedro Rizzo praised Ruffy's takedown defense while crediting Tsarukyan's clinch work and elbow combinations for turning the tide. "When you start worrying too much about defense, you become too defensive and stop attacking," Rizzo said, noting that Tsarukyan's adjustment—using feints and clinch control to set up striking—caught Ruffy off guard despite the Brazilian already having absorbed two elbows from the same setup.

Renato "Money" Moicano, who trains alongside Tsarukyan at American Top Team, offered a similar assessment. He noted that when Ruffy began landing and frustrating Tsarukyan's takedown attempts, Tsarukyan adapted by using feints to enter the clinch and escalate his elbow attacks. "Arman, besides being versatile on the feet and having great cardio, is very aggressive," Moicano said. "He kept his composure and started using feints until he got into the clinch and began attacking with elbows, and one of them ended the fight."

Moicano was scheduled to fight on the same card but his opponent, Brian Ortega, withdrew after sustaining a cut above his eye. Moicano is now set to face Tom Nolan later this year.