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AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 1h ago
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy five-round bout among UFC 331 additions
Arman Tsarukyan will not rematch Charles Oliveira at UFC 331 , but instead face Mauricio Ruffy.
\n After weeks of rumors about a potential Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) vs. Oliveira rematch on the Sept. 19 card at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the promotion announced Wednesday that it will be Ruffy (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in the five-round co-main event.
\n Back on the West Coast 🌴 The official bout list for #CryptoCom #UFC331 is here! [ Tickets on sale TODAY | LIVE SEP 19 at @CryptoComArena ] pic.twitter.com/PWxADetCRv
— UFC (@ufc) August 5, 2026 \n Oliveira has displayed grieving online over the shocking recent death of his longtime teammate, UFC flyweight Allan Nascimento, which may explain why he's not participating at UFC 331.
\n However, Ruffy, No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings , brings momentum in the matchup with Tsarukyan after back-to-back knockout win over Michael Chandler and Rafael Fiziev.
\n No. 3-ranked Tsarukyan, meanwhile, returns to the same city where he withdrew from his scheduled UFC 311 lightweight title fight vs. Islam Makhachev on weigh-in day in January 2025. He's fought just once since then MMA, defeating Dan Hooker by submission at UFC Fight Night 265 in Qatar in November, but has been ultra-active in wrestlings matched under the RAF banner, as well as a bevy of other grappling matches.
\n The latest UFC 331 lineup includes:
\n Champion Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja – for flyweight title
Mauricio Ruffy vs. Arman Tsarukyan
Doo Ho Choi vs. Patricio Freire
Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega
Iwo Baraniewski vs. Alonzo Menifield
Sean Sharaf vs. Gable Steveson
Charles Jourdain vs. Marlon Vera
Robelis Despaigne vs. Tai Tuivasa
Brunno Ferreira vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
Joanderson Brito vs. Giga Chikadze
Casey O'Neill vs. Eduarda Moura
Ozzy Diaz vs. Ryan Gandra
Michael Aswell Jr. vs. Joosang Yoo
\n This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy five-round bout among UFC 331 additions
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