American Top Team muay thai coach Anderson Franca believes
Arman
Tsarukyan presents a tricky stylistic challenge for Mauricio
Ruffy.
Tsarukyan will meet Ruffy in the co-main event of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming event in Los Angeles.
Franca, who has previously cornered Tsarukyan, won’t be in the
Armenian’s corner at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena, but was instrumental in
creating the game plan.
Advertisement
Anderson França breaks down Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy
at UFC 331
In a recent interview with Sherdog, Franca broke down the Tsarukyan
vs. Ruffy matchup. The coach revealed changes Tsarukyan has made to
his camp in preparation for Ruffy, who he considers the best
striker in the 155-pound division.
“Arman always trains with me when he has his camp at ATT, but for
this particular camp he brought Petrosyan, who is a high-level
fighter who competed in K-1,” Franca told Sherdog. “Arman is an
athlete who never gives up and is willing to die in the ring.
Mauricio Ruffy, on the other hand, is a sniper, without a doubt the
best striker in the lightweight division.”
Franca said he was specifically asked to help Tsarukyan prepare for
Ruffy’s striking after the matchup was finalized.
“As soon as the fight was booked, Parrumpa asked me to help him
study Ruffy’s game so I could help him during camp,” Franca said.
“Arman has to be extremely focused because you can’t make mistakes
against Ruffy. On the other hand, Arman is the worst stylistic
matchup for Ruffy and he also has an extremely high fight IQ. I
would say this fight is 60-40 in favor of [Tsarukyan].”