Arman Tsarukyan scores first-round knockout of Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331

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Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 331 | Chris Unger, Zuffa LLC Arman Tsarukyan will not be denied. The presumptive No. 1 lightweight contender likely punched—or more accurately, elbowed—his way to a title shot Saturday at UFC 331 with vicious first-round knockout over Mauricio Ruffy. It took Tsarukyan some time to get his offense going with Ruffy showing strong takedown defense to prevent Tsarukyan from taking the fight to the ground, but eventually Tsarukyan bullied his way into range to land a cracking elbow. That shot visibly stunned Ruffy, allowing Tsarukyan to follow with a second elbow that left Ruffy flat on the mat. It was the sixth straight win for Tsarukyan, who said afterward he knew he needed a finish to convince the matchmakers to make him lightweight champion Justin Gaethje’s next opponent. After that, it looks like everyone is convinced, with several of Tsarukyan’s peers anointing him as the man to beat at 155 pounds. Check out how the pros reacted to Tsarukyan’s incredible knockout below. This man is the next Champion! — Renato Moicano (@moicanoufc) September 20, 2026 UNBELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE BY ARMAN! — Renato Moicano (@moicanoufc) September 20, 2026 The best sport in the world. Who would have thought he would win by KO — LERONE MURPHY (@LeroneMurphy) September 20, 2026 Congratulations to @ArmanUfc What a performance — Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) September 20, 2026 Neon is undefeated as a cornerman! https://t.co/Hb6xGABUZn — Aiemann Zahabi (@Aiemannzahabi) September 20, 2026 Neon was calling for the elbow — Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) September 20, 2026 Wow @N3onOnYT gave him lucky — GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) September 20, 2026 Title shot for Arman what an elbow! — Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) September 20, 2026 Elbows Elbows Elbows… I know a guy. — MarQuel (@Marquelmederos) September 20, 2026 Arman!!! #ufc331 — keitaplusser (@keita_losene) September 20, 2026 What a elbow 👀👀🤯🤯 #UFC331 — GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) September 20, 2026 Holy crap!! What a knock out by @ArmanUfc !! Lethal elbow off a takedown — Funky 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@Benaskren) September 20, 2026 Dangggg Armen with a crazy knockout!! — Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) September 20, 2026 BUZZER BEATER ELBOW @ufc — fatima kline (@fatima_kline7) September 20, 2026

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Arman Tsarukyan of Georgia knocks out Mauricio Ruffy of Brazil in a lightweight fight during the UFC 331 event at Crypto.com Arena on September 19, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Arman Tsarukyan needed to make a statement at UFC 331 and now he can consider that mission accomplished after he knocked out Mauricio Ruffy in jaw-dropping fashion in the opening round. As it turns out, Tsarukyan didn’t even need a takedown as he crushed Ruffy with a pair of elbows that sent to Brazilian down to the ground in a heap with referee Jason Herzog officially stopping the fight at 4:56 in the opening round. ARMAN KNOCKS MAURICIO RUFFY OUT COLD!!! 📺 #UFC331 on @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/v7mDUuLQGI — UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) September 20, 2026 Ruffy opened the fight with a well-timed straight right that tagged Tsarukyan to set the tone in the opening round. That led to a single leg takedown attempt from Tsarukyan before moving to the body lock against the cage. Tsarukyan continued to battle for position to get the takedown but Ruffy was doing a good job resisting as the fighters battled for position. A moment later, Tsarukyan unloaded a short inside elbow followed by a second shot that rendered Ruffy unconscious as he fell to the canvas in a heap. Tsarukyan wasted no time climbing the cage and celebrating with UFC CEO Dana White as he let it be known that a title fight should be next for him. “I came here to save this city,” Tsarukyan said after his win. “Today, Los Angeles is going to have fun. I knew I was going to finish him. First elbow is from this coach, second elbow is from this coach. “[It has to be] title fight or Mark Zuckerberg, I want to fight you next.” UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje has already said he doesn’t plan on competing again until sometime in 2027 and former champion Ilia Topuria just revealed that he’s been cleared to compete again now that his body has healed from a hellacious fight at UFC White House. That said, Tsarukyan has certainly done more the enough to separate himself from the competition when it comes to title shot and it’s going to be awfully hard to deny him, especially after his stunning performance on Saturday at UFC 331.

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Arman Tsarukyan is the No. 1 contender for the UFC lightweight title