Mauricio
Ruffy has reflected on his recent defeat in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Ruffy took on Tsarukyan in the co-main event of UFC
331. The Brazilian rocked Tsarukyan early, leaving him with a
swollen eye in the first round. The latter survived the early scare
and knocked Ruffy out with an elbow from the clinch in the dying
seconds of the round.
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Mauricio Ruffy explains why he relaxed his defense in the final
seconds against Arman Tsarukyan
Ruffy on Wednesday addressed his loss to Tsarukyan. While Ruffy is
one of the most feared strikers among active UFC lightweights, he
isn’t really known for his ground game. He wanted to silence his
doubters and also prove to himself that he could handle the
wrestling exchanges against Tsarukyan.
To Ruffy’s credit, he defended every takedown attempt from
Tsarukyan. Ruffy says he could gradually feel Tsarukyan’s grip
become weaker as he kept defending takedowns. He was confident that
he would finish off the visibly hurt Tsarukyan in the second
round.
However, Tsarukyan knocked Ruffy out in the final seconds of the
first round. He says he could have escaped the clinch but instead
decided to let Tsarukyan fatigue himself after he heard the
10-second warning clap. Ruffy blames himself for letting his guard
down in the final seconds. He apologized to his fans for letting
them down and vows to learn from the loss.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I was fine,” Ruffy said on
Instagram. “So I wanted to defend all the takedowns. I didn’t want
a fast knockout. I wanted to go out there as a better fighter. And
I say the best, meaning going through situations, not only to bring
clarity to people but for myself, how much I am ready to do this. I
know I’m ready, but knowing is not all you need to prove to
yourself you are ready.”
“When I got that flash knockdown and felt his strength starting to
fade. I felt the fight in my control. And when he got flash knocked
down, I felt that his strength was breaking. I saw how much he felt
it when I hit one elbow at the tip of the rib when he was defending
a reversal. So, he was hurt; his eye was very closed. I would get a
lot of punches up there, and I was sure I would finish the fight in
the second round.
“An important thing to say is that the mistake was totally mine. It
was my fault, my carelessness, and his merit. Arman is an excellent
fighter. When the guys yelled at me that there were 10 seconds left
and he shot for my legs, that was actually the best thing for me. I
thought, ‘He’s going to spend a little more energy here. The second
round is going to start, and I’ll knock him out.’ There were four
seconds left, so I had strikes I could have thrown. I could have
gotten away from the fence, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to use
that moment against him, and it was a good idea. I just got
careless. I relaxed—relaxed on defense, which is what I normally
don’t do. So, I paid the price for that.
“So, I want to apologize to my fans for the sadness of the loss. I
know it’s not easy to root for someone through a defeat, but guys,
I’m learning. You’ve seen the evolution of each fight, and this
fight was going very well. But I’m happy for everything that
happened. It’s difficult to deal with loss and all that, but it
makes us grow.”
Ruffy (14-3) has finished four of his five UFC wins, while losing
to Benoit St.
Denis and Tsarukyan. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan (24-3) claims the UFC
has repeatedly promised him the next lightweight title shot.