Edson
Barboza sees plenty of himself in Mauricio
Ruffy and believes the surging Brazilian has become an
“improved version†of him.

Barboza, who recently retired from the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, claims Ruffy is one of his
favorite fighters to watch. Ruffy is set to face Arman
Tsarukyan in the UFC
331 co-main event on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles and Barboza
recently broke down the matchup, having trained alongside Tsarukyan
at
American Top Team.

Barboza compares Mauricio Ruffy to Anderson Silva ahead of
Arman Tsarukyan fight

Barboza gave his assessment of the matchup in an exclusive
interview with Sherdog. He claims Ruffy reminds him of UFC legend
Anderson
Silva before drawing a comparison between Tsarukyan and
Khabib
Nurmagomedov.

“Ruffy is one of my favorite fighters right now,†Barboza said.
“He's extremely creative and skilled, and he reminds me of Anderson
Silva. He just needs one opportunity to finish a fight. I'd say
he's the improved version of me.â€

While he thinks highly of Ruffy’s abilities, Barboza acknowledged
how good Tsarukyan is while comparing the latter to Nurmagomedov,
who he faced back in 2017.

“I've had the opportunity to train many times with Arman at ATT,â€
Barboza added. “He's impressive. If he needs to, he'll come at you
10,000 times until he takes you down. Khabib had more pressure. He
controls you more and is always one move ahead, but he doesn't
really look for the submission. Arman is different. He's always
looking to advance and find the finish.â€

He then highlighted Ruffy's finishing ability while hyping up the
matchup.

“Ruffy only needs one opportunity to finish the fight,†Barboza
concluded. “All I can say is that it's going to be a fight you
can't miss — a classic striker vs. grappler matchup.â€

Jordan Burroughs has called for a wrestling match against Georges St.
Pierre, revealing that the
Ultimate Fighting Championship legend is his top choice.

The Olympic gold medalist recently called out the UFC Hall of Famer
for a freestyle wrestling match under the Real American Freestyle
banner, proposing a meeting at RAF 14 in Las Vegas on Oct. 3.

Burroughs names GSP his top choice and proposes an Oct. 3
showdown at RAF 14

Burroughs discussed a potential match with St. Pierre during an
appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show†after his recent RAF victory
over Sean Brady
on Aug. 22. When the Canadian's name came up as a possible
opponent, Burroughs made his interest clear.

“Yeah, Georges, if you’re out there, I would love to compete
against you,†Burroughs said. “I’d love to wrestle you. I honor
you. I honor your legacy. And I don’t want to embarrass you. I
don’t want to humiliate you. I just would love to share the stage
with you. And so, he’s No. 1. He’s at the very top of my list.â€

Burroughs then proposed a date and location.

“Georges, if you’re out there and are watching this show, make it
happen. Las Vegas, Oct. 3.â€

St. Pierre has not competed professionally since submitting
Michael
Bisping to capture the UFC middleweight title in 2017. He
officially retired from mixed martial arts in 2019 and was inducted
into the UFC Hall of Fame the following year.

Burroughs is next scheduled to face Magomed Kurbanaliev at RAF
Moscow on Sept. 5.

Jordan Burroughs says GSP is the dream
matchup he wants most:

“Georges, if you’re out there, I would love to compete against you.
I’d love to wrestle you.

I honor your legacy, and I don’t want to embarrass you. I don’t
want to humiliate you. I just would love to share the stage…
pic.twitter.com/wZAt90EmRU

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
August 24, 2026

A 27-3 record built on 13 finishes now meets a perfect 12-0 professional ledger in a strawweight Muay Thai matchup that looked very different just days ago, before a late change reshuffled the numbers entirely.

Elmehdi El Jamari's original opponent, Ellis Badr Barboza, withdrew from the ONE Fight Night 47 card due to injury, and Ngoc Phu Nguyen has stepped in as his replacement for the Friday, September 4 broadcast from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

El Jamari's numbers tell a story of early dominance followed by a difficult stretch. His April 2025 promotional debut ended in under three minutes against Thongpoon PK Saenchai, but two losses have followed since, including one to current ONE Interim Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Aliff Sor Dechapan.

Barboza's withdrawal cost the card a bout between two decorated strikers, but Nguyen's undefeated ledger keeps the numbers just as compelling. His perfect record now carries the weight of representing an entire nation's hopes on debut night.

Ngoc Phu Nguyen's unbeaten record faces its biggest test at ONE Fight Night 47

Nguyen's 12-0 mark represents one of the more spotless records set to debut inside the Circle this year, and a win over an opponent with El Jamari's finishing power would instantly validate every number on that resume. The 22-year-old Vietnamese fighter trains out of TIMEBOMB MUAY THAI and has never tasted defeat as a professional, a streak now facing the toughest test of his career.

El Jamari, meanwhile, is looking to add a number of his own back to the win column after his two-fight skid, one that came against a combined resume featuring a reigning interim world champion and a former two-division, two-sport titleholder in Sam-A Gaiyanghadao. A win would push his record to 28-3 and steady a career that started with so much promise.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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