Now almost two years later, Tsarukyan is still the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds but instead of competing for gold at UFC 331, he's taking on Mauricio Ruffy in a fight that could potentially earn him that title fight opportunity. By all accounts, Tsarukyan has accepted his punishment for the injury that forced a last-minute change to a major card but he also believes it's win or go home on Sept. 19 if he ever hopes to compete for UFC gold.

“I'm taking Mauricio Ruffy as an opponent for my title fight,†Tsarukyan said on his YouTube channel. “Every fight for me is important. I give all of myself in [my] training camp.

“If I lose this fight, I'm never going to see a title fight. That's why I'm super motivated for this fight, super hungry. I've been working so hard for that moment.â€

Heading into UFC 331, Tsarukyan is heavily favored to win thanks to his dominant grappling game and suffocating wrestling attacks while going up against a fighter like Ruffy, who almost exclusively prefers to stand and strike with his opponents.

But Tsarukyan is no fool and he won't get drawn into a game where he's so determined to drag this fight to the ground and Ruffy suddenly finds an opening for one of his knockout strikes.

“I never underestimate him, especially his striking,†Tsarukyan said. “I've got to be so smart during the fight because he has a good punch, so he's knocked out a lot of people.

“Now it's my time. I have a good game plan. It's going to work very well. I'm not saying it's going to be an easy fight. It's going to be a hard fight but I get the victory.â€

Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy serves as the co-main event at UFC 331 on Sept. 19 with flyweight champion Joshua Van defending his belt agains former champion Alexandre Pantoja in the five-round main event.

Lima was in Garry's corner in Philadelphia and told MMA Fighting he only paid attention to the hugs when it later became a topic of discussion.

“I swear I didn't notice it,†Lima said. “And I don't think the hugs influenced anything at all. Him greeting his opponent, honestly… Charles [Oliveira] does that too. Charles hugs everyone when the round ends, when the round starts. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. That didn't change the outcome of the fight. Thank God, Ian is a family man, a respectful guy, extremely polite. If he wants to greet people more, let him greet people more. There's no problem with that.â€

That was the second time Makhachev has faced a fighter coached by Lima, the first being a lightweight title bout against Charles Oliveira, and Lima has nothing but great things to say about the welterweight champion.

“As much as he's our opponent, he's also an extremely respectful guy,†Lima said. “I like him as a human being. I also admire his work as a fighter. But even though we're opponents, he's a guy who always greets us whenever he sees us and gives us a hug.â€

Lima admits maybe Garry could have won the fight if he had been more aggressive inside the octagon, and that's a lesson learned for the future. He remains proud of what Garry was able to do against one of the most dominant champions in UFC history.

“Ian fought very well, and you saw both of their faces,†Lima said. “I think if we had been just a little more aggressive, we could have knocked him out. But at the same time, we knew we were facing the No. 1 guy. There's nothing you can say about Makhachev, he's an extremely tough guy.â€

“He really is a very tough, very good fighter, and the results speak for themselves,†he continued. “And Ian Garry came very close to winning this fight. That's why I really believe that in a rematch, Ian Garry can win. I'm not going to say that [Makhachev] isn't all that, because he is. He's very, very tough. But I think everyone saw it, and Makhachev himself saw it, how tough Ian is. I think if we had been a little more aggressive, we could have knocked him out. Because Ian, in my opinion, is one of the smartest fighters in the UFC. One of the highest fight IQs in the UFC. He adapts to everyone's game. He fought [Carlos] Prates, who is a nasty striker. He fought Makhachev, who is a nasty grappler, and he adapted to both styles. I really believe we're going to have that belt next year.â€

On Saturday, Silva headlined the fourth iteration of Noche UFC, taking on Jose Miguel Delgado in the main event in Glendale, Arizona. And while he was slow to start, Silva was quick to finish, dropping Delgado in the third round and then tapping him with a one-armed rear-naked choke. Afterward, Silva called for the winner of the upcoming Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev title fight, but will he get it?

Following Noche UFC, MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew (and Alexander K. Lee for a brief moment) chopped it up about Silva's impressive performance and what that portends for his future. Jed then also discussed Brandon Moreno's win over Joseph Morales in the co-main event, the rise of Tommy McMillen as a new star, Alexa Grasso's return to form, and the rest of the action from Glendale.

Watch the Noche UFC post-fight show above, or an audio-only version of the show can also be streamed below and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.