There is no place in the United States with a larger Armenian population than the Greater Los Angeles area, which is why it makes perfect sense for Armen Tsarukyan to compete this weekend at Crypto.com UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena, where he’ll face off with Brazilian striker Mauricio Ruffy in a special 5-round co-main event.
“I feel great, excited; it’s nice to be here,” said Tsarukyan. “It’s always so special to represent my country, and especially because we’re fighting in L.A.,” continued the Armenian standout, who enters on a five-five winning streak and having posted a 10-1 record since dropping his promotional debut to Islam Makhachev seven years ago. “It’s a big community.”
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While Tsarukyan is sure to have a vocal Armenian contingent cheering him on, the highly skilled standout has grown to become a huge fan-favorite over the last year.
Instead of just sitting idly by, waiting for the right matchups to come together, the soon-to-be 30-year-old has been extremely active on the wrestling and grappling circuits, logging eight appearances under the RAF banner, three with Hype FC, and a few other engagements in between. He has largely been successful too, with his only setback coming in a wrestling match with two-time welterweight title challenger and former NCAA All-American Colby Covington.
“It gives me a lot of experience,” he said. “You’re always competing, so now it’s fight week, and I’m going through this every two weeks… For me it’s better to stay in shape, and I got better in the wrestling and grappling as well.”
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The prospect of Tsarukyan’s grappling leveling up since he fought Dan Hooker in Qatar last November is a scary proposition for everyone in the 155-pound weight class, specifically Ruffy, who left The Fighting Nerds in Brazil and moved to Australia to train at Freestyle MMA with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski towards the end of last year.
While training with Volk and his head coach Joe Lopez is never a bad choice, it felt like a reaction to Ruffy’s one-sided submission loss to Benoit Saint Denis in September 2025. In addition to being the two-time featherweight champ, Volkanovski is an elite grappler, both offensively when needed, but more importantly for Ruffy, from a defensive standpoint, as he showed in his epic first encounter with Islam Makhachev in February 2023.
Through his first two fights this year, Ruffy hasn’t needed to show any of the fruits of his efforts on the wrestling front as he’s managed to keep matchups with Rafael Fiziev and Michael Chandler standing, dominating both and registering a pair of impressive stoppage wins.
“He’s a good striker, has a good punch, strong punch,” Tsarukyan said. “He’s a good fighter. I gotta do my job very well and take his head, then more forward.”
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Asked about the fight being a 5-round affair as opposed to the standard three, Tsarukyan cracked a smile and said, “I’m not gonna need five rounds. It’s gonna be short; a couple rounds.”
Confident prediction aside, such an effort would certainly benefit him as he currently sits at No. 2 in both the Meta and media rankings.
Current champion Justin Gaethje hasn’t indicated one way or another whether he intends to defend his belt or ride off into the sunset after capturing the title at The White House.
Former champ Ilia Topuria started to indicate that he’s ready to make a return, and a rematch is always a possibility, and Charles Oliveira remains very much in the mix after claiming the BMF title from Max Holloway earlier this year.
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With the title picture murky, the only thing Tsarukyan can control is his own effort, and his intention is to put on another stellar performance and leave no question as to where he stands in the lightweight division.
“Of course, I’m always looking for a statement to show that I’m not a decision-machine. I’m a guy who came in looking for a finish,” he said. “I’m gonna look for a finish. I want to show an exciting fight… This fight puts me in a fight for the title. Contender number one.”
Crypto.com UFC 331: Van vs Pantoja 2 took place live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on September 19, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
