Tsarukyan Backs Chandler for Topuria’s 155-Pound Return After 17-0 Run Ended

Q: Will Mauricio Ruffy crush Tsarukyan’s championship dreams at UFC 331 and completely flip the script on the lightweight division's future?

Yes — Ruffy absolutely can derail Tsarukyan’s title plans, but calling it likely is still a stretch. Tsarukyan is the more established contender. He is ranked No. 2, riding a five-fight UFC winning streak, and owns high-level wins over Charles Oliveira and Dan Hooker. He has said UFC 331 is effectively a No. 1 contender bout, though he also admits a win would not guarantee a shot at Justin Gaethje’s lightweight title. Ruffy, however, is the kind of opponent who can flip the division’s script with one night. He is ranked No. 7, coming off a highlight-reel first-round knockout of Michael Chandler, and brings the exact kind of dangerous striking threat that makes this matchup volatile. Even Tsarukyan has framed it as wrestler vs. striker — a classic high-risk test where one mistake can change everything. If Ruffy wins, the lightweight picture changes fast. Tsarukyan’s immediate claim to a title shot would collapse, and Ruffy would likely vault into the Gaethje conversation alongside names such as Oliveira, Topuria and Pimblett. That would also weaken Tsarukyan’s public positioning on Topuria’s comeback path, because Tsarukyan would no longer be dictating much of the division’s narrative. Still, Tsarukyan remains the safer pick based on résumé, consistency and five-round experience. Ruffy has the power and momentum to ruin the plan, but Tsarukyan is still the fighter with more evidence behind a championship run.

2 articles · Updated · MMA Fighting · Aug 19

Michael Chandler is the opponent Arman Tsarukyan says makes sense for Ilia Topuria’s comeback, calling it an “easy fight” before a push back toward the lightweight title.
Topuria has been sidelined since June, when Justin Gaethje handed him his first loss and took his championship at UFC White House, leaving the former 17-0 star recovering from facial injuries.
Tsarukyan tied that view to the moving 155-pound picture, where he meets Mauricio Ruffy in a five-round UFC 331 co-main event on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles.
That fight is widely seen as a title eliminator for a shot at Gaethje, while a future Tsarukyan-Topuria clash still looms after years of bad blood in the same division.