Tsarukyan warns UFC 331 fight against Ruffy is his last shot at a lightweight title

Arman Tsarukyan has framed his September 19 co-main event against Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 as a career-defining moment, warning that defeat would permanently close the door on a UFC lightweight title fight.

The Armenian contender was originally scheduled to challenge Islam Makhachev for the 155-pound belt in January 2025, but a last-minute back injury forced him off the card. Nearly two years on, Tsarukyan remains the division’s No. 1 contender yet finds himself fighting for the right to earn another title shot rather than competing for gold outright.

“If I lose this fight, I’m never going to see a title fight,” Tsarukyan said on his YouTube channel. “That’s why I’m super motivated for this fight, super hungry. I’ve been working so hard for that moment.”

Tsarukyan enters the bout as a heavy favourite. His dominant grappling and suffocating wrestling are widely considered a difficult puzzle for Ruffy, a striker who has built his reputation on knockout power. Tsarukyan, however, is not treating the stylistic mismatch as a licence to be reckless.

“I never underestimate him, especially his striking,” he said. “I’ve got to be so smart during the fight because he has a good punch — he’s knocked out a lot of people.”

Despite the caution, Tsarukyan is confident his game plan will hold. “Now it’s my time. I have a good game plan. It’s going to work very well. I’m not saying it’s going to be an easy fight — it’s going to be a hard fight — but I get the victory.”

The co-main event sits beneath a flyweight title rematch in the UFC 331 main event, where champion Joshua Van defends his belt against former champion Alexandre Pantoja.