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Mauricio Ruffy believes he slipped up against Arman Tsarukyan and was knocked out for it.

Ruffy had the biggest opportunity of his pro MMA career on the UFC 331 main card. The Brazilian knockout artist was featured in the co-main event against top-ranked lightweight Arman Tsarukyan. This was Ruffy's chance to turn the 155-pound division upside down.

Ruffy had success in spots, catching Tsarukyan with a punch early, and he even had some success with his takedown defense. Ultimately, Ruffy's grappling defense led to his downfall, as Tsarukyan used the opportunity to catch his opponent with a brutal elbow that put him to sleep.

In a statement posted on his Instagram Stories, Ruffy said that while he felt in prime form inside the Octagon, he made a big mistake leaving his guard down prior to the elbow (via MMAFighting).

“I was 100 percent focused on performing, in passing all possible situation, and have an answer for them all. I was feeling really good in the fight. …

â€When I got that flash knockdown and felt his strength starting to fade. I felt the fight in my control. And when he got flash knocked down, I felt that his strength was breaking. I saw how much he felt it when I hit one elbow at the tip of the rib when he was defending reversal. So he was hurt, his eye was very closed. I would get a lot of punches up there, and I was sure I would finish the fight in the second round.

“An important thing to say is that the mistake was totally mine. It was my fault, my carelessness, and his merit. Arman is an excellent fighter.â€

Ruffy admitted it stings knowing that he had a brief lapse inside the Octagon.

“I just got careless,†Ruffy said. “I relaxed on defense, which I normally don't do. So I paid the price for that.

The good news for Ruffy is that there were some things to build off of even though the fight didn't make it past the first round. Time will tell how he responds to being knocked out for the second time in his pro MMA career. This is also Ruffy's third pro loss.

Who would you match Mauricio Ruffy up against next? Play matchmaker in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua has finally found a date and location.

Chairman of the Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, announced that Fury vs. Joshua will be taking place at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Dec. 11.  The long overdue heavyweight grudge match will be streamed live on Netflix.

“For 15 years no one has been able to make this fight,†Alalshikh said. “Back in April, I said that any announcement would come from me. I can now confirm that Fury Vs Joshua will be coming to the UK, as I promised British boxing fans. The time for talking is over ……..â€

Prior to the announcement, Fury vowed to put Joshua to sleep early in a video clip posted on his Instagram account (via MMAFighting).

“I'm gonna knock him out so bad, it's gonna be unbelievable,†Fury said. “It's gonna be the quickest knockout ever. Man's chinny and a poppadom, paper chin. I'm taking him out. The last two real fights he had, it was over in both first rounds — not including Jake Paul, obviously. So the last two fights he had, he was down in the first round twice. I'm taking this cunt out. One round.â€

There had been a disagreement between both sides over the location of the bout. Per the initial terms agreed to by Joshua's camp, the fight was to take place in the United Kingdom. Fury's team was reportedly pushing for the bout to emanate from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The general consensus is that Fury vs. Joshua should've always been planned for England.

Not long before the announcement, Matchroom's Eddie Hearn, who represents Joshua, was confident that the bout would indeed come to fruition under the original terms. It's clear that he had good reason to be optimistic.

Now that Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua finally has a date and location, who are you leaning towards picking for the long-awaited showdown? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Strawweight Queen of Pancrase champion Miki Motono
successfully retained her title with a dominant second-round TKO
victory at Pancrase
366 in Tokyo. Motono stopped reigning atomweight champion
Satomi
Takano, whose bid to become a two-division titleholder was
dashed by an onslaught of punches.

Miki Motono retained her Queen of Pancrase title with a
second-round TKO of Satomi Takano

The southpaw Motono (11-5) repeatedly connected with straight left
hands, which were the most significant strikes of the opening
round. Takano (20-15) secured a brief takedown after catching a
kick, but Motono continued to win the boxing exchanges after
returning to her feet.

Takano took Motono down in the second round, but Motono quickly
reversed into the scarf-hold position and landed dozens of punches
to the face of a defenseless Takano. Takano refused to submit to
two scarf-hold armlocks, but the fight was finally stopped after
she absorbed more than 50 additional punches. Motono retained her
title via TKO at the 4:09 mark of Round 2.

After the fight, Motono credited one of her teammates who had
doubted her. The teammate felt Motono would not be able to finish
Takano, which provided extra motivation for the champion to retain
her title inside the distance. Motono, who previously held the
interim Deep Jewels title in 2020, has now won three straight
fights since making her Pancrase debut this past year.

Competing for the final time, reigning flyweight Queen of Pancrase
champion Shizuka
Sugiyama (25-8-1) won her retirement bout in the co-main event
at 119 pounds. Sugiyama earned a unanimous decision over Emi Fujino
(31-17-1, 1 NC), who celebrated a milestone of her own by competing
in her 50th professional fight.

The longtime friends circled one another and traded jabs in the
opening round, with Sugiyama landing a few lead right hooks from a
southpaw stance. Fujino replied with two right hands and stuffed a
Sugiyama takedown attempt.

Fujino knocked Sugiyama down with a right hook early in the second
round. Sugiyama returned to her feet, and Fujino continued to win
the boxing exchanges until Sugiyama took her down into side
control. Sugiyama mounted Fujino and landed punches and elbows, but
time was called when Fujino landed an illegal upkick. The fight
resumed on the ground, where Sugiyama maintained top position.

Sugiyama took Fujino down into half guard in the final round and
kept her pinned to the mat until the midway point. Just as Fujino
looked to reestablish her boxing, Sugiyama put her on the canvas
once more and landed punches from top position until Fujino kicked
her off.

In the final minute, Fujino marched forward, but Sugiyama cracked
her with left hooks to the jaw. All three judges scored the fight
30-27 for Sugiyama, who ended her 18-year career with a
victory.

In her post-fight retirement speech, Sugiyama thanked Fujino for
making her final fight a memorable one, along with her fans and
supporters. While many fighters view losses as negative points in
their careers, Sugiyama highlighted her eight defeats as positive
experiences that each taught her something and made her a better
competitor.

Bellator veteran Chiara
Penco (12-5) extended her winning streak to four by defeating
former strawweight Queen of Pancrase champion Karen
(10-4).

Penco's reach advantage allowed her to land early jabs and two
right hands. Karen had some success with leg kicks, but Penco's
punches continued to find their mark, and she briefly took Karen
down late in the round.

Penco opened the second round with more jabs and right hands, but
she noticeably winced when Karen landed a kick to the liver. Karen
was unable to follow up, and her right eye swelled from the damage
caused by Penco's hard jabs. Karen held her own in the clinch
during the final round, but Penco dealt more damage with jabs and
knees to the body.

The close fight went to the scorecards, with one judge scoring it
29-28 for Karen. The remaining two returned scores of 29-28 for
Penco, who may have earned herself a title shot with the split
decision victory.

A featured lightweight showdown saw Chikaya
Suzuki (3-0) maintain his perfect professional record with a
split decision victory over veteran Kengo
Fujimura (11-8-2).

Early on, Fujimura took Suzuki down and threatened with a
rear-naked choke, but his inability to secure both hooks allowed
Suzuki to escape to his feet. Suzuki scored a takedown of his own
and then held Fujimura against the cage in a prolonged clinch.
Fujimura pulled his arm free just in time to avoid a dangerous
standing kimura.

Suzuki fought off rear-naked choke and armbar attempts in the
second round, which Fujimura largely controlled on the ground. The
final round was the opposite, as Suzuki controlled the grappling
while a fatigued Fujimura willingly conceded takedowns.

One judge scored the fight 29-28 for Fujimura. The remaining two
scored it 30-27 and 29-28, respectively, for Suzuki, who took the
split decision.

Stepping in on very short notice, Tokumitsu
Takagi (6-2) made the most of his opportunity with a unanimous
decision victory over Da Eun Jung
(9-7) in a 141-pound catchweight bout.

Following early clinch battles against the cage, Takagi landed a
spinning backfist on the break. Both men exhibited excellent
takedown defense as the clinch battle continued.

Takagi got the better of the early boxing exchanges in the second
round. Jung was unable to take Takagi down, and Takagi floored him
with a counter right hook. Jung returned to his feet, but his
attempts to secure a takedown remained unsuccessful.

The final round was contested entirely in the clinch until referee
Takarada separated the fighters with 70 seconds remaining. Takagi
scored a brief takedown late in the fight and walked away with the
unanimous decision via scores of 29-28 and 30-27 twice.

The preliminary card concluded with a flyweight matchup between
Daiki
Shimada (2-1) and Ruki Saito
(4-4). Shimada pressed the action early with body kicks and left
hands but was taken down into side control. Saito attempted a
rear-naked choke, and the fighters battled back and forth for
position.

Saito landed a hard elbow from the clinch in the second round, but
it was the only significant strike, and Shimada secured a takedown.
Shimada knocked Saito down with a counter right hook in the final
round. Saito recovered quickly, but Shimada snapped his head back
late in the round with an overhand right.

Shimada's performance in the second half of the fight was enough to
earn him a unanimous decision, with scores of 30-27 and 29-28
twice.

Yuki
Ito (1-3) earned his first professional victory with a split
decision over Daiki Mine
(2-5) at flyweight.

The first four minutes were fairly uneventful, but the pace picked
up late in the round. Mine landed elbows from the clinch against
the cage, and Ito took him down and secured back control. The round
ended with Ito landing punches to the side of Mine's head.

Mine connected with a left cross midway through the second round
before Ito took him down. Mine scrambled and took Ito's back but
willingly gave up the position and chose to stand.

Ito slowed in the final round, allowing Mine to land punches that
set up a takedown. Mine hunted for a rear-naked choke and landed
elbows and punches. The tired fighters traded wild haymakers in the
final seconds.

One judge scored the fight 29-28 for Mine, while the remaining two
had it 29-28 for Ito, who earned the split decision.

Soukichi
Maeda (3-4-1) and Takashi
Koyama (3-4) engaged in a back-and-forth bantamweight bout that
ended with Maeda's hand raised.

Koyama landed a combination that forced Maeda to dive at his ankles
in search of a takedown. Koyama attempted an inverted triangle
choke, which seemed to fire up Maeda, who responded with a steady
stream of right hands on the ground.

The two exchanged looping punches in the second round until Maeda
was dropped by a right hook. He recovered, however, and fought his
way out of a tight anaconda choke. Maeda finished the round on top,
landing punches from Koyama's guard.

Maeda picked Koyama up and slammed him to the mat in the final
round. Maeda remained in control until the final minute, when a
mistake allowed Koyama to take his back.

The judges were divided, with one scoring the bout 29-28 for
Koyama. The remaining two had it 29-28 for Maeda, who earned the
split decision.

The card kicked off with a lightweight matchup between Taisei
Hata (2-2) and Torao
Hamachi (1-1). Hamachi pursued takedowns during the opening two
minutes until he was stunned by a counter combination from Hatta.
Hamachi's left eye swelled, and Hatta hurt him again with ground
punches later in the round.

Hamachi opened the second round with a takedown and 90 seconds of
ground control, but Hatta's punches wobbled him once more after the
fighters returned to their feet. Hamachi stumbled around the cage
as Hatta pursued him with punches, and the bout was waved off.

Hatta earned the TKO victory at the 4:19 mark of Round 2.