Israel Adesanya Predicts Upset: Mauricio Ruffy Over Arman Tsarukyan

Israel Adesanya spent time with Mauricio Ruffy at the Freestyle MMA Performance Centre and believes the Brazilian knockout artist can upset Arman Tsarukyan on Saturday.

Ruffy faces Tsarukyan in a pivotal bout for his career. A win could propel Ruffy into the UFC lightweight title contention. Tsarukyan is widely considered the top contender at 155 pounds, and Ruffy has the chance to shake up the division with a victory at UFC 331.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Adesanya suggested Ruffy can land a decisive blow on Tsarukyan.

"In this fight, I think Ruffy will be where he was with Fiziev, which was on the backfoot," Adesanya stated. "Arman will be putting on the pressure just trying to force him to the cage and go for a takedown. Ruffy’s footwork must be elite in this fight. You can’t get stuck on the cage with Arman because once he gets to a leg or he gets his arms on your waist and he can just drop down, it’s almost a guarantee finish. Ruffy, he knows what to do. I think he can catch Arman."

While acknowledging Tsarukyan's grappling prowess as a significant challenge, Adesanya favors Ruffy to hand Tsarukyan his first stoppage loss since 2015.

"It’s five rounds. … In the beginning, if Arman can get a hold of him like (Benoit Saint Denis) did, it will be a problem because he can try and sap his energy. But then again, he can recover. But I think if Ruffy just maintains his distance, footwork and stays off the fence line, he’ll be popping Arman and one of them will catch him. If not, when Arman gets tired from trying to take him down later on, Ruffy’s going to snipe him. I’m going Ruffy third-round finish."

Both fighters made weight for Friday's weigh-ins. Ruffy hit the lightweight mark of 155 pounds first, with Tsarukyan also successfully weighing in a pound heavier for their high-stakes matchup.