Former coach likens Mauricio Ruffy to Ronaldinho ahead of UFC 331 co-main against Tsarukyan

Flavio Alvaro, a former ground coach at Fighting Nerds and one of Mauricio Ruffy’s earliest mentors, has lavished extraordinary praise on the Brazilian lightweight ahead of his UFC 331 co-main event against No. 2-ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan — going as far as comparing Ruffy to Ronaldinho, widely regarded as one of the most gifted Brazilian footballers of all time.

Alvaro spoke on Tuesday, fresh from Arizona where he watched Fighting Nerds product Jean Silva claim his seventh UFC victory. Despite Ruffy having since moved on from the team, Alvaro made clear the bond remains intact. “Funny enough, Ruffy was the one who brought me to the Fighting Nerds. He trained with me from the age of 18 to 24, then joined the Fighting Nerds and introduced me to Sucupira there. Today, even though he’s no longer with us, he’s still a brother to me,” he said.

On Ruffy’s ability, Alvaro was unequivocal. “What I can say with confidence is that he’s the most skilled guy I’ve ever seen in MMA. He’s a genius. If I had to compare him to soccer, which is Brazil’s favorite sport, I’d say he’s Ronaldinho,” he told Sherdog.

That admiration does not blind Alvaro to the scale of the challenge Tsarukyan represents. The Armenian-Russian fighter enters the bout as the favourite, ranked second in the UFC lightweight division, and Alvaro acknowledged the stylistic difficulties he poses. “Tsarukyan is the favorite because of his experience. He’s extremely tough. He has that warrior spirit, that refusal to ever give up or quit,” he said.

Still, Alvaro stopped well short of conceding the fight. His assessment hinged on Ruffy’s physical and mental readiness on the night. “But we need to understand where Ruffy’s confidence is, where his head is and how his gas tank is,” he said. “If Ruffy is at 100%, I don’t believe this fight will make it to the third round. It will be a massacre.”

The co-main event at UFC 331 shapes up as one of the more intriguing lightweight matchups of the year, pitting Tsarukyan’s battle-tested experience against a fighter his own former coach describes as the most naturally gifted he has ever worked with.