Even Volkanovski can't keep Ruffy down as UFC 331 co-main event looms

Mauricio Ruffy has made such dramatic strides in defensive wrestling since joining Alexander Volkanovski’s team in Australia that the former featherweight champion himself can no longer keep the Brazilian on the mat, according to head coach Joe Lopez. The revelation comes three weeks out from Ruffy’s co-main event appearance at UFC 331 on 19 September in Los Angeles, where he faces lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan — a fighter widely regarded as one of the division’s most dangerous wrestlers.

Lopez, speaking to Submission Radio, said the transformation since Ruffy arrived from Brazilian gym Fighting Nerds has been stark. Ruffy made the move following a loss to Benoit St. Denis in September 2025, and has since gone on to finish both Rafael Fiziev and Michael Chandler, stopping two of the lightweight division’s most recognisable names.

“Well, it’s just chalk and cheese,” Lopez said. “You can just see how he’s improving, you know?”

The coach was specific about what has changed. Ruffy arrived with a jiu-jitsu-heavy instinct — clinging to opponents and hunting submissions — but has since retrained his responses to prioritise escaping bad positions and returning to his feet rather than accepting the grappling exchange.

“For this fight here, that’s one of our specialties is our defensive wrestling and our scrambles and not accepting the position,” Lopez said. “Honestly, he’s picking it up. When he first came, he was still really stuck in his jiu-jitsu type thing where he attached himself to the person. Now, he’s not. He’s training his escapes, getting out, putting his body in the right position, putting his hands in the right position.”

Tsarukyan’s wrestling will be the central tactical question on fight night. The Armenian-Russian contender has used his takedown ability to neutralise strikers throughout his UFC career, and Ruffy — a finisher built around explosive striking — would appear to be a natural target for that approach. Lopez’s comments suggest the camp has identified that threat and built the entire training block around countering it.

Whether the improvements hold up against Tsarukyan’s live pressure remains to be seen, but the fact that Ruffy is now testing himself daily against a fighter of Volkanovski’s calibre — and coming out of those rounds upright — will be an encouraging sign for his corner heading into one of the most significant bouts of his career.