Written by Mauricio Ruffy | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Mauricio Ruffy’s third octagon appearance will be against longtime veteran King Green on the main card portion of UFC 313 this Saturday, but being part of a highly anticipated Las Vegas pay-per-view isn’t be the biggest pressure the Brazilian has faced going into a fistfight.
A Fighting Nerds lightweight prospect, who has won 11 or 12 professional bouts so far including his first two UFC appearances, Ruffy told MMA Fighting that facing off with Kazakh welterweight Raimond Magomedaliev at Dana White’s Contender Series actually put far more pressure on his shoulders than any of his previous UFC bouts.
Magomedaliev was the odds-on favorite when he took on the Brazilian in October of 2023. He entered Contender Series with wins over Impa Kasanganay and Anthony Njokuani on his résumé, but Ruffy scored an upset knockout of Magomedaliev with 15 seconds left in the final round.
“I haven’t faced anything, in terms of pressure, like that Contender Series fight,” Ruffy said. “It was very difficult for me because my wife gave birth to our baby. I got to stay with my kid for two days and then travel to Vegas. She had a skin problem that made it very difficult for me to leave them. I was fighting a guy a division up, and he was seen as a future champion at 170. Fighting in front of Dana White at the Contender Series, and I had to bring the contract to my wife and my son. That was the biggest pressure I’ve felt my entire life. Dealing with that was very difficult. God helped me go through that, and I was able to knock him out.”
Ruffy signed with the UFC and then walked through Jamie Mullarkey in one of the most spectacular debuts of all time, pocketing an extra $50,000 for his performance in front of his countrymen at UFC 301. He fought in New York next, and experienced a new kind of nervousness seeing President Donald Trump and Elon Musk cageside.
“I remember I couldn’t face the crowd in Rio,” Ruffy said. “I wanted to face the crowd and feel the energy. And then I fought at Madison Square Garden, and when I entered the octagon and started fighting [James Llontop at UFC 309], it felt so good I simply didn’t want it to be over. And it won’t be different this time. After everything I went through, I feel ready for this. In a way, everything that happened only made me grow. I can see that now. I just want to go there and do what I love. The happiness of doing that is way bigger than any anxiety, any pressure.”
Ruffy said he was approached by the UFC with the offer to replace Dan Hooker versus Justin Gaethje when a hand injury forced Hooker out of the UFC 313, co-main event, but the company ultimately opted for a Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev rematch. Ruffy feels that a match with Gaethje would be far more exciting, but understands Gaethje’s decision to face a higher-ranked foe instead.
Fully focused on Green, Ruffy promises new moves that will impress the fans.
“I’ve envisioned this fight for a long time,” Ruffy said. “It’s a surprise that it came so soon. This is only my third fight in the UFC, and the second time I’m opening the main card — this time on maybe the biggest UFC of the year. I’m happy with everything God has given me. The impression I have is that I’m living in a year what an athlete would take 10 years to live. I’m very happy and grateful for this fight.”
Green has faced some of the world’s best during his 26-fight UFC run, from future champion Islam Makhachev to the likes of Dustin Poirier and Edson Barboza. The 38-year-old’s most recent wins came against Jim Miller, Grant Dawson and Tony Ferguson, but Ruffy doesn’t see evolution in his game over the past decade.
“I believe he has a fight pattern,” Ruffy said. “If you get his fights 10 years ago, he’s the same fighter. What he’s changed a bit is fighting more on a southpaw stance, but our team has mapped out everything you can imagine. His reaction in the first round, the second, the third, how he behaves. He’s emotional, the way he screams when his name is announced. He’s talking all the time because he can’t deal with the volcano he has inside of him, and I believe we can use that to our advantage. I have a strategy and we’ll follow that.
“I’m sure that the right moment will present itself, and when he gives me that opportunity, it’s one shot.”