Sarukyan knocks out Ruffi in first round at UFC 331 in Los Angeles

Armenian-Russian mixed martial artist Arman Sarukyan secured a dominant first-round knockout victory over Brazilian fighter Mauricio Ruffi at UFC 331 in Los Angeles on September 20, 2026. The co-main event bout ended at 4:56 of the opening round when Sarukyan landed consecutive elbow strikes to Ruffi's head after pressing him against the octagon cage, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Sarukyan, ranked second in the UFC lightweight division, extended his professional record to 24-3 and achieved his sixth consecutive UFC victory. The knockout finish has been widely praised by analysts and commentators as a rare and impactful moment. MMA analyst Mikhail Ragazin told Match TV that the knockout would "appear in all highlight reels of the best UFC moments," noting it was "sufficiently rare" and a "deep knockout." UFC President Dana White commented positively on Sarukyan's performance, stating: "Arman's example is when you mess up and then come back and do everything right. After everything he did, you couldn't have imagined a better comeback."

Following his victory, Sarukyan called for a title shot against current lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. "My next fight must be for the belt," Sarukyan said post-fight. "Gaethje is the champion. My next fight is either for the belt or with Mark Zuckerberg." UFC has not officially announced his next opponent. The event also featured Sarukyan entering the octagon with American streamer Mikayl N3on Rafiq, part of a financial arrangement in which N3on paid Sarukyan $200,000 to use the song "She Wanna Hang With An Indian" for his walkout, plus an additional $50,000 to serve as his fourth cornerman.

The main event of UFC 331 saw Joshua Van defeat Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-47, 50-45) to defend his bantamweight title. Sarukyan and Casey O'Neill each received $100,000 bonuses for "Performance of the Night," while Van and Pantoja received $100,000 each for "Fight of the Night."