Arman Tsarukyan calls for title shot after delivering brutal knockout over Mauricio Ruffy in UFC 331

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Arman Tsarukyan of Georgia knocks out Mauricio Ruffy of Brazil in a lightweight fight during the UFC 331 event at Crypto.com Arena on September 19, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Arman Tsarukyan needed to make a statement at UFC 331 and now he can consider that mission accomplished after he knocked out Mauricio Ruffy in jaw-dropping fashion in the opening round.

As it turns out, Tsarukyan didn’t even need a takedown as he crushed Ruffy with a pair of elbows that sent to Brazilian down to the ground in a heap with referee Jason Herzog officially stopping the fight at 4:56 in the opening round.

Ruffy opened the fight with a well-timed straight right that tagged Tsarukyan to set the tone in the opening round. That led to a single leg takedown attempt from Tsarukyan before moving to the body lock against the cage.

Tsarukyan continued to battle for position to get the takedown but Ruffy was doing a good job resisting as the fighters battled for position. A moment later, Tsarukyan unloaded a short inside elbow followed by a second shot that rendered Ruffy unconscious as he fell to the canvas in a heap.

Tsarukyan wasted no time climbing the cage and celebrating with UFC CEO Dana White as he let it be known that a title fight should be next for him.

“I came here to save this city,” Tsarukyan said after his win. “Today, Los  Angeles is going to have fun. I knew I was going to finish him. First elbow is from this coach, second elbow is from this coach.

“[It has to be] title fight or Mark Zuckerberg, I want to fight you next.”

UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje has already said he doesn’t plan on competing again until sometime in 2027 and former champion Ilia Topuria just revealed that he’s been cleared to compete again now that his body has healed from a hellacious fight at UFC White House.

That said, Tsarukyan has certainly done more the enough to separate himself from the competition when it comes to  title shot and it’s going to be awfully hard to deny him, especially after his stunning performance on Saturday at UFC 331.