Khamzat
Chimaev believes Arman
Tsarukyan is levels above Mauricio
Ruffy.

Tsarukyan (23-3) is scheduled to fight Ruffy (14-2) in a pivotal

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight bout on Sept. 19 at
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. While Chimaev considers Ruffy one
of the best strikers in the UFC right now, “Borz†believes
Tsarukyan won't face much adversity if he mixes in his ground game
at UFC
331.

Chimaev says Tsarukyan’s wrestling and grappling are on a
different level from Ruffy’s

According to Chimaev, Tsarukyan's wrestling and grappling are
levels above his Brazilian counterpart's. The former UFC
middleweight champ Chimaev acknowledges Ruffy's elite striking
ability, but notes that Tsarukyan can hold his own on the feet as
well.

“Ruffy's a top fighter, I think he is one of the best strikers in
the UFC right now,†Chimaev told Adam Zubayraev. “I think if Arman
works on both levels, there won't be any problems at all. Arman's
wrestling and grappling level and Ruffy's are two completely
different levels. Completely different. [Ruffy] is very good on the
feet. Arman is very good on the feet. Arman feels very confident on
the feet.â€

Chimaev and Tsarukyan are close friends and work on their strength
and conditioning together at The Treigning Lab under Sam Calavitta.
They've also cornered one another previously, with Chimaev rumored
to be in Tsarukyan's corner at UFC 331.

Tsarukyan was on the cusp of challenging for UFC gold last year,
but was removed from the title picture after pulling out of his
maiden title fight in the UFC against then-lightweight champ
Islam
Makhachev in January 2025. He has since finished Dan Hooker to
extend his win streak to five straight.

Meanwhile, Ruffy is coming off finishes against Rafael
Fiziev and Michael
Chandler since suffering his lone UFC loss to Benoit St.
Denis last year.

For Jean
Silva, his recent fight against Jose
Delgado was his maiden main event in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Silva (18-3) headlined
Noche UFC 4 against Delgado (12-3) on Sept. 12 at Desert
Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The Brazilian survived an early
knockdown and turned the tide in the second round before making
Delgado tap to a rear-naked choke in the third frame.

While this was Silva's second UFC headliner, he considers it his
first.

Jean Silva explains why his UFC loss to Diego Lopes made the
Jose Delgado win so meaningful

Silva took on Diego Lopes
at
Noche UFC 3 last year. While Lopes dominated the first round,
Silva gained momentum in the second round, landing serious damage
on his opponent. Lopes later dropped Silva with a sneaky spinning
back elbow before landing heavy ground-and-pound to secure the
finish.

Silva considers the win over Delgado his first UFC main event as he
claims to have no recollection of his loss to Lopes. “Lord†admits
that the defeat took something away from him, including the
memories from the fight.

“I pulled my [team] aside in a corner before the fight tonight and
told them, ‘I don't have any memories of what happened at Noche UFC
last year.' It did take something away from me,†Silva said at the
post-fight presser. “I wanted it said because I wanted to have the
memory of my first main event and I do not have any of that. I know
the history books are going to say this is my second main event,
but to me it was the first. So, I'm very happy that tonight I was
able to make good memories and I will remember them forever.â€

Joshua
Van wanted to pick Alexander
Volkanovski's brain when they met.

Van met fellow
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Volkanovski and
watched him train briefly in Washington, D.C., this past June.
Volkanovski recently praised the flyweight champion's hunger to
learn from him, while Van is grateful for the knowledge the
featherweight champion had to offer.

Joshua Van details what he learned from Alexander Volkanovski
ahead of UFC 331

Van lauded Volkanovski's intelligence, which was evident watching
“The Great†train. The former was also eager to learn from
Volkanovski as they have a similar build. Van respects the
Australian's elite technique and lack of recklessness.

“That guy is a very smart man; I learned so many things from him,â€
Van told MMA Junkie. “Just to be around, not even that long, but
like I was in the same room and learned so much just from watching
him train. Especially Volkanovski, we kind of have the same body
type and things like that. He's a smart fighter; he's not
aggressive, he's technical. So, I want to pick his brain and things
like that. I want to learn as much as I can from guys like that…
Wherever he wants to train, you know I'll be there. That's
Volkanovski we're talking about. He's one of the greats for
sure.â€

Van (17-2) is scheduled to defend his flyweight title in a rematch
against Alexandre
Pantoja (30-6) at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Meanwhile,
Volkanovski (28-4) is set to defend his featherweight title against
Movsar
Evloev (20-0) at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu
Dhabi.