Caio Borralho predicts knockout threat for Tsarukyan at UFC 331

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Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy face off ahead of UFC 331 | Ed Mulholland, Zuffa LLC Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy co-headline UFC 331 in a match that could determine the next in line for a shot at the lightweight title in 2027, and Ruffy’s former teammate Caio Borralho sees the Brazilian with the edge on the feet. Tsarukyan spent the last few months competing in wrestling and grappling matches outside the UFC while waiting for a date and opponent to re-enter the octagon, and Ruffy was selected as his next foe in Los Angeles on Saturday. Tsarukyan has won his past five in the UFC, capped off by victories over Charles Oliveira and Dan Hooker, while Ruffy floored Rafael Fiziev and Michael Chandler with violent knockouts in 2026. “I think both guys are dangerous for themselves,” Borralho told MMA Fighting. “I think Ruffy has the one-shot knockout power that he can turn off anyone in the division. I think if Arman wants to strike him, even if it’s a little bit, he’s going to get knocked out. But I think if he’s trying he’s trying to wrestle at least the first two or three rounds, I think it’s going to be harder for Mauricio to keep the pace and strategy, the calm.” Borralho thinks it’s “a 50-50 fight,” breaking it down similar how his teammate Carlos Prates’ potential welterweight title bout with Islam Makhachev might go. “I think it’s a dangerous matchup for both guys,” Borralho said of Prates vs. Makhachev. “I don’t think Makhachev ever fought a guy like Prates that hurts you, makes you feel pain and other stuff with the leg kicks and all the stuff. On the other way, [Makhachev] has the grappling. This is the antidote to the striking, right? I think it’s a hard matchup for both guys. “If Prates manages to keep his composure when he gets taken down, like he always keeps, his mentality is very good when he’s on the bottom, and get up and defend a couple takedowns or at least make Makhachev a little bit more tired—I think Makhachev is actually getting used to the new weight class, so I think he’s carrying more mass, more muscle, so this takes some time for him to adjust to that.” Makhachev recently defended his 170-pound title with a decision over Ian Machado Garry, improving to 2-0 at welterweight since vacating the UFC lightweight throne. Prates, who has only lost once in the UFC against Garry, scored knockouts in every other fight in the UFC and Contender Series. “We saw [Makhachev] got tired in his last fight like he’s not used to,” Borralho said, “And I think if got tired like that against a guy like Carlos, he’s gonna get hurt. But I think he has a massive chance to finish this fight too, to submit Carlos or anything like that, because he has a very good jiu-jitsu. But, in general, hard matchup for both guys.”

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Mauricio Ruffy has scored back-to-back knockouts going into UFC 331