On Thursday morning, the UFC announced the full main card for UFC 331 on September 19th in Los Angeles featuring Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title and a lightweight contender match between Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy.
Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy is an interesting match-up, but a bit of a swerve after weeks of reports that Tsarukyan would be facing Charles Oliveira in a rematch of their razor close UFC 300 fight. What happened to elicit the switch? According to UFC commentator
Daniel Cormier, it was the shocking death of Oliveira’s Chute Boxe teammate and ‘brother’ Allan Nascimento on Monday.
“It’s unfortunate because we would have loved to see [Tsarukyan] and Oliveira have a rematch,” Cormier said in a new YouTube video. “The first fight was tremendous. Arman actually hit a fan on the way to the octagon! But unfortunately, Charles’ teammate passed away, and that’s why I believe we’re not getting that fight.”
“Obviously, those guys down there, Oliveira and their team, they’re all so close. So I think that’s why we’re not getting the Charles fight.”
“If I’m being honest, guys, Arman Tsarukyan told me in Abu Dhabi that it was going to be him and Oliveira,” Cormier said. “No BMF title, it was gonna be him and Oliveira fighting in Los Angeles. And Arman told me he just wants to continue to fight to essentially make himself undeniable because he wants a title opportunity.”
“Yesterday, we got [the news] that he’s fighting against Mauricio Ruffy,” he continued. “That’s a dangerous fight with not as much upside because Ruffy, while he is good and while he did have that great win at the White House, he doesn’t have the name value of Charles Oliveira. Arman Tsarukyan saying yes to this fight, I believe, strengthens his case over anything.”
“Now he’s saying yes to everybody and everything, under any type of fighting situation. That makes you a guy that everybody wants to work with.”
UFC 331 also features Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega, Marlon “Chito” Vera vs. Charles Jourdain, Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf, and Tai Tuivasa vs. Robelis Despaigne.
