Dana White has cleared up why Mauricio Ruffy landed the five-round co-main event against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 331: the matchup was assembled after Tsarukyan lost the opponent first lined up for him.
White answered the question during fight week in Dublin. The exchange did not identify the withdrawn fighter, but it established that Ruffy was a replacement choice rather than the opening plan.
The 29.94-second source clip contains four spoken lines from White. His complete quote inventory, including the two brief acknowledgments before the question, is:
Dana White: “All right.”
Dana White: “Okay.”
Dana White: “No, no. His original fight fell out.”
Dana White: “And here we are. That’s gonna be a good one.”
The Missing Name Remains Unconfirmed
The short answer stops before naming the first opponent. Charles Oliveira had been tied to Tsarukyan through public comments in the days before the card announcement, but White did not confirm Oliveira in this exchange.
Daniel Cormier later said Tsarukyan had told him an Oliveira rematch was booked. Cormier also connected the change to the death of Oliveira teammate Allan Nascimento. Those details remain Cormier’s account; White’s new statement confirms only that an original fight fell through.
“If I’m being honest, Arman Tsarukyan told me in Abu Dhabi it was going to be him and Oliveira, no BMF title, fighting in Los Angeles… Yesterday, we got that he’s fighting against Mauricio Ruffy. It’s unfortunate because we would’ve loved to see him and Oliveira have a rematch. The first fight was tremendous. Unfortunately, Charles’ teammate passed away, and that’s why, I believe, we’re not getting that fight.”
The UFC then announced Tsarukyan-Ruffy as the Sept. 19 co-main event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The numbered card streams on Paramount+ and is headlined by flyweight champion Joshua Van’s rematch with Alexandre Pantoja.
Tsarukyan Risks His Position Against A Finisher
Tsarukyan enters at 23-3 after submitting Dan Hooker in November 2025. His current run also includes the split decision over Oliveira at UFC 300, a result that gave him the head-to-head advantage if the rematch had stayed together. The full UFC 331 top-card announcement is here.
Ruffy is 14-2 with 13 knockout wins and nine first-round finishes. He rebounded from a submission loss to Benoit Saint Denis by stopping Michael Chandler at UFC Freedom 250, earning the biggest victory of his career before this booking.
Ruffy has already shown footage from his UFC 331 camp, including work in Chuck Liddell’s Iceman shorts. Tsarukyan brings the higher ranking and deeper five-round experience; Ruffy brings the more immediate knockout threat. White’s explanation shows that the matchup came from a disrupted plan, but it still places both lightweights in a fight with direct title-picture consequences.
