Arman Tsarukyan will face Mauricio Ruffy in the co-main event of UFC 331 on 19 September, a surprising opponent for the lightweight contender's return to the Octagon.
Tsarukyan had been expected to fight Charles Oliveira in a rematch of their 2024 bout, which Tsarukyan narrowly won on points. Instead, he will face fellow Brazilian contender Ruffy. The fight will be Tsarukyan's first in the UFC since he stopped Dan Hooker in November.
Fans have speculated that Tsarukyan has fallen out of favour with the UFC since withdrawing from a title shot against Islam Makhachev in January 2025. UFC president Dana White said earlier this year: "I'm not thrilled with Arman right now, and there's a lot of different reasons. It's not just the stuff that you see publicly."
Some fans believe this explains the pairing of the No 2 lightweight with 10th-ranked Ruffy, while others speculated that Oliveira withdrew after the death of his teammate Allan Nascimento, who died suddenly from an apparent heart attack this week at age 34.
In the main event, Joshua Van defends his flyweight title in a rematch with Alexandre Pantoja at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.