Connect with us

MMA

Dana White won't commit to title shot for Arman Tsarukyan if he defeats Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331

Published

2 months ago

on

Dana White won't commit to title shot for Arman Tsarukyan if he defeats Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331
Trending:

Mike Perry speaks out after suffering injury during upset loss to Brandon Jenkins: “Health is wealthâ€
Zuffa LLC

Dana White is making no promises before he sees how Arman Tsarukyan's UFC 331 co-headliner against Mauricio Ruffy transpires.

Tsarukyan was believed to be preparing for a rematch with BMF titleholder Charles Oliveira, but he was booked to meet Ruffy in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. “Batman's†team told Ariel Helwani that a lightweight title shot against Justin Gaethje has been guaranteed with a win. It appears White is pumping the brakes before the fight actually happens.

In a sitdown interview with Sports Central LA, the UFC boss didn't commit to guaranteeing “Batman†a title opportunity if he defeats Ruffy.

“I hate to say that until the fight is over,†White said.

When host Chris Hayre pointed out that Tsarukyan himself mentioned the No. 1 contender status, White laughed it off.

“Arman and I have had a nice little run here,†White joked. “Listen, let's see how this fight plays out.â€

Tsarukyan might have to pull off an emphatic finish just to seal the deal. “Batman†submitted Dan Hooker in the second round during his most recent MMA bout back in Nov. 2025. If he can have similar success against Ruffy, it would be hard to deny that he should be Gaethje's next challenger.

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier has said he feels Tsarukyan boosted his stock within the UFC brass for taking the fight against Ruffy. Whether or not Tsarukyan will be rewarded if he pulls off a highlight worthy performance remains to be seen. Some believe Ruffy does pose a threat thanks to his dangerous standup game. Many expect Tsarukyan to take this one to the ground, but he might feel added pressure to finish the fight.

Do you think Arman Tsarukyan needs to stop Mauricio Ruffy in impressive fashion at UFC 331 to get a lightweight title shot against Justin Gaethje? Sound off in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

MMA

Tatiana Suarez reveals what she took away from past title fight loss to Zhang Weili

Published

9 hours ago

on

November 5, 2026

By

Tatiana Suarez reveals what she took away from past title fight loss to Zhang Weili
Trending:

UFC Edmonton Results: Mike Malott KO's Joaquin Buckley (Video)
Zuffa LLC

UFC star Tatiana Suarez has taken a look back at what she was able to learn from her title loss to Zhang Weili ahead of her return.

In early 2025, Tatiana Suarez fell to her first loss in professional mixed martial arts at the hands of Zhang Weili. Since then, however, she has done a pretty good job of rebuilding herself, with victories over Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez.

RELATED: Tatiana Suarez believes she is right back in title conversation after UFC 327

Ahead of her fight against Virna Jandiroba this weekend, Tatiana Suarez has been reflecting on what went down against Zhang Weili. Of course, a loss is always hard to take, but it can often help you become an even better version of yourself.

In an interview, Tatiana Suarez had the following to say on the matter.

Tatiana Suarez reflects on former title fight defeat

“I took a lot from that fight, obviously – um, I guess it's not obvious, because not everybody does that, but I'm sure you have to,†Suarez said. “There's just no way you don't take anything from a loss, you know? For me, it's helped me in a lot of ways mentally. Obviously, it's helped me understand things that I also have to improve on, and more so the mindset of it all. Up until that point, I've never faced any adversity in a fight. So, that was the first time I've ever had to face any type of adversity, and I never stopped coming. I always kept trying, so that's something to be said as well.

“So it does show me that I always just never quit. I'm never just going to be like, ‘OK, I'm done.' She hit me with some good shots, and I just kept coming forward. But I think more importantly, I just feel like being a skilled fighter and having the fight IQ is important when you have big fights like that. So, that's what I definitely learned out there as well is like being smarter and fighting smarter.â€

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Will Suarez compete for a UFC world title again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Continue Reading

MMA

Dana White defends Dan Miragliotta over stand-up in Moicano vs. Nolan bout

Published

17 hours ago

on

November 5, 2026

By

Dana White defends Dan Miragliotta over stand-up in Moicano vs. Nolan bout
Dana
White has addressed veteran referee Dan Miragliotta's
controversial stand-up in the Renato
“Money†Moicano vs. Tom Nolan
bout.

Moicano suffered a third-round stoppage loss to Nolan at
UFC Vegas 123 on Oct. 31. However, the fight was marred by
controversy when Miragliotta stood the fighters up for inactivity
while Moicano had Nolan's back in the second round. While it's very
rare for a referee to intervene when a fighter has his opponent's
back, White defended Miragliotta's call.

Why Dana White believes Dan Miragliotta made the right
call

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO says that, under the
ruleset, damage is the key factor in stand-ups, not holding
position. White notes that some grapplers can ride their opponent's
back for three rounds and says the referee is right to intervene if
the fighter in a dominant position isn't trying to land damage or
advance position.

“I don't think it's about dominant position,†White said during a
media scrum captured by TheMacLife. “It's about, are you doing
damage or not, trying to win the fight? Some of these guys are so
good, they can f*cking take your back and ride it out for three
rounds. The rules are, if you’re not doing damage or trying to
advance your position, or trying to win the fight, you get stood
up.â€

Continue Reading

MMA

Aaron Pico reveals ideal next opponents but admits ‘I really don’t give a sh*t’ who UFC gives me

Published

1 day ago

on

November 4, 2026

By

Aaron Pico reveals ideal next opponents but admits ‘I really don’t give a sh*t’ who UFC gives me

Aaron Pico isn't in the business of picking and choosing his fights.

After he was supposed to face Arnold Allen at UFC 333, and ultimately faced top prospect Losene Keita instead, Pico never lost any sleep about going from a ranked opponent to a newcomer with only two UFC fights on his resume. In the end, Pico delivered a vicious first-round knockout to improve his own UFC record to 2-1 and now he's ready for the next step towards his ultimate goal of becoming champion.

Pico admits there are some ideal opponents out there for him as he looks ahead to what comes next.

“I think anybody ahead of me in the ranking,†Pixo told MMA Fighting. “I'm definitely going to be watching the Aljamain [Sterling] fight very closely. That's always a possibility. But Lerone Murphy, I'd love to fight him as well. I have no hard feelings against him other than he beat me, and I'd love to avenge that loss. I think fought I really dumb, and he got very, very lucky. But a lot of blessings came after that loss so I'm OK with it.

“We'll see how the Kevin Vallejos and Aljamain Sterling fight goes and if everything goes smooth and no injuries with those guys, maybe that's a possibility of fighting the winner of that. Can't have that, I'd love to run it back with Lerone Murphy. We'll have to see.â€

Of course, Murphy scored a knockout win over Pico in his octagon debut so it's understandable why that rematch offers so much interest to the former Bellator fighter.

That said, Pico makes it clear that he's not in the business of turning down fights much less being that selective when it comes to his opponents.

Much like accepting the Keita fight with the knowledge that it was a high risk, low reward situation, Pico just doesn't like the idea of picking and choosing his opponents even if the person he's fighting doesn't have a number next to their name.

“I'm just speaking honestly from the heart, I'm just going to let you know how I feel. I don't really look at the rankings or anything like that,†Pico said. “Of course, I'm like oh this guy is No. 5 or this guy is No. 10. I'm truly in the mindset I'm after one thing and that's to be the best fighter in the world and fight the best in the world.

“Of course, I have a manager and I let him handle a lot of things and I tell him ‘who do you want me to fight?' and I always tell my family this, when I'm 60 years old in my rocking chair at my ranch, I want to be able to say I fought whoever they threw at me. I really don't give a shit. Some guys are like ‘I can't fight him because he's No. 10 or No. 12 and I'm No. 4.' I truly don't even look at that.

Pico would love nothing more than to have the chance to climb up the featherweight ladder and eventually fight for the title but he's not going to turn down fights just because an opponent doesn't logically make sense.

“I'm of the mindset right now, I am a beginner and I'm trying to learn as much as I possibly can,†Pico said. “I know I have to fight the best guys in the world. Yeah, of course, it's going to be a little bit scary. Of course, I'm a little bit nervous going into fights and training camps, but that just is what it is.

“I'm comfortable with that. If I fight a guy that's not ranked, it just is what it is. I know if I have that mindset, the belt will come sooner than later.â€

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending