Fresh off a trip to Arizona, where he watched his fighter Jean Silva
earn his seventh
Ultimate Fighting Championship victory, Flavio
Alvaro spoke with Sherdog on Tuesday about Saturday’s UFC
co-main event between former
Fighting Nerds standout Mauricio
Ruffy and No. 2-ranked lightweight Arman
Tsarukyan.
“Funny enough, Ruffy was the one who brought me to the Fighting
Nerds. He trained with me from the age of 18 to 24, then joined the
Fighting Nerds and introduced me to Sucupira there. Today, even
though he’s no longer with us, he’s still a brother to me,” said
Alvaro, who worked as a ground coach with the Brazilian team.
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Flavio Alvaro explains why he sees rare talent in Mauricio
Ruffy ahead of UFC 331
Alvaro has high praise for Ruffy’s skills, going so far as to
compare the UFC lightweight to one of the greatest Brazilian soccer
players of all time.
“What I can say with confidence is that he’s the most skilled guy
I’ve ever seen in MMA. He’s a genius. If I had to compare him to
soccer, which is Brazil’s favorite sport, I’d say he’s Ronaldinho,”
Alvaro said.
Despite his admiration for Ruffy, Alvaro acknowledged that
Tsarukyan presents one of the toughest stylistic matchups the
Brazilian could face in the lightweight division.
“Tsarukyan is the favorite because of his experience. He’s
extremely tough. He has that warrior spirit, that refusal to ever
give up or quit. But we need to understand where Ruffy’s confidence
is, where his head is and how his gas tank is,” Alvaro said.
“If Ruffy is at 100%, I don’t believe this fight will make it to
the third round. It will be a massacre.”