Alexander Volkanovski has suddenly been catapulted up among a host of storylines set to explode at UFC 331 in Los Angeles this Sunday – and as two fellow Australians also throw down on a card where the bad blood is becoming increasingly evident in fight week.
While he may be one of the most recognised fighters anywhere on the UFC roster, Volkanovski will this Sunday be in the corner, and perhaps even holding the spit bucket, as new Brazilian team-mate Mauricio Ruffy takes on Arman Tsarukyan in a lightweight title eliminator.
UFC 331: Van v Pantoja 2 | SUN 20 SEPTEMBER 11AM AEST | The UFC returns to Los Angeles for a blockbuster title showdown, as Joshua Van defends his crown against former champion Alexandre Pantoja in a rematch for the ages. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
Then in the main event, UFC flyweight champ Josh Van defends against the man he not only dethroned last December, but is now developing his own genuine rivalry with — Alexandre Pantoja.
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WHAT’S THE AUSTRALIAN ANGLE FOR SUNDAY?
Most notably, it’s Volkanovski.
Despite being in the midst of his own fight camp, the UFC featherweight king has agreed to once again act as a corner for rising Brazilian star Ruffy.
After initially teaming up with Volkanovski’s management team, Ruffy has now spent consecutive camps training alongside ‘The Great’ and his head coach, Joe Lopez, at the pair’s home gym in Wollongong.
Speaking this week with Fox Sports Australia, Ruffy not only expressed his happiness in the pairing, but also with how he is now being tagged an adopted Aussie.
The lightweight title challenger also heaped praise on the changes being made to his game under Team Volkanovski’s brutal training regimen.
Surprisingly, Volk even copped a stray bullet during the fight week press conference, when Tsarukyan took aim as Ruffy was hailing the changes to his grappling game under the champ.
“We need someone to teach Volk how to wrestle first,” Tsarukyan deadpanned.
Unsurprisingly, the comment surprised Ruffy, who hit back immediately via an interpreter.
“I know you’re playing this for the crowd,” he told Tsarukyan. “But I’ve gotta tell you, you have to respect a champion like Alexander Volkanovski. He’s an amazing guy, an amazing champion, you’ve got to respect that.
‘I’m gonna whoop his ass again’ | 01:50
“And if you’re so confident in wrestling, that you can beat me, I’ll tell you I’m just as confident … we’re going to see who comes out on top.”
But still, Tsarukyan wasn’t finished.
“Nobody said I don’t respect him,” he said of Volkanovski. “I just said he doesn’t know how to wrestle.”
Ruffy: “After all the storied history he has built in the UFC, after everything he has done even with Islam [Makhachev], you’re gunna tell me he doesn’t know wrestling? Ok, bro.”
HOW MANY AUSSIES ARE FIGHTING?
We’ve got two, Tai Tuivasa and Casey O’Neill.
And for Tuiavsa, it is absolutely a crossroads fight.
With popular Mt Druitt slugger looking to end a run of seven straight losses against Cuban knockout monster, Robelis Despaigne.
Elsewhere, Gold Coast flyweight Casey O’Neill is also looking to punch her way into a world title run which she faces Eduarda Moura in the early preliminaries.
After a horror couple of years that have include two major knee surgeries, O’Neill is finally ready to come good on the promise that once saw her crowned an MMA Rookie of the Year.
But as for their chances?
Well, according to Sportsbet, Tuivasa is a whopping $6 outsider against Despaigne, who has been wound in to $1.13.
O’Neill, meanwhile, is the $1.42 favourite in her fight, with Brazil’s Moura $2.89.
HOW WILL THINGS PLAY OUT FOR THE ADOPTED AUSSIE?
While Ruffy is now closely aligned with Volkanovski – who also cornered his White House win against Michael Chandler in June – the Brazilian still comes into Sunday’s event as the outsider,
According to Sportsbet, Ruffy is a $3.62 underdog for the co-main, while Tsarukyan is $1.62. Still, a win for the Brazilian could potentially see him catapulted straight into a shot at new UFC lightweight champ Justin Gaethje.
Speaking with ESPN this week, reigning MMA Coach of the Year John Wood tipped Tsarukyan via decision in what he describes as “a really interesting fight”.
‘INSIDE 3 ROUNDS!’: Van vows ‘banger’ | 10:45
“Arman is going to want to grind out Ruffy [and] is easily a top-five wrestler/grappler in the UFC,” Wood said. “The one thing about Arman — even though he’s stayed busy with the wrestling appearances, he’s been out of the UFC for a while, so it’ll be interesting to see how he looks. But unless Ruffy catches him and knocks him out, Arman is a good striker, too. Arman can go the distance in a hard fight. My gut leans to Arman. I’m a big fan of Ruffy, but it’s just that grappling prowess of Arman.”
WHAT ABOUT THE MAIN CARD?
While the showdown between Ruffy and Tsarukyan is arguably the most anticipated, there is also some real beef developing in the headliner between new UFC flyweight champ Van and Pantoja.
Already this week, there have been suggestions Van can declare himself one of the UFC’s new faces by defending gold against the former king.
Speaking at Friday’s press conference, the champ even suggested he would use Sunday’s rematch to prove himself the undeniable flyweight GOAT.
While Van and Pantoja were extremely cordial in the build to their first fight, things have gone far differently in the second, including at a bout announcing press conference where Pantoja suggested the new champ was so disrespectful he should’ve been slapped like a misbehaving child.
Asked about that at this week’s UFC media day, Van replied: “As far as I checked, I’m his dad. I don’t know what he was talking about. The s*** that he’s been saying, he should get smacked for that.
“He was being respectful after the [first] fight but now he’s doing interviews making me the bad guy. I told him we were going to fight again so I don’t know what his deal was. It was just annoying.”
Mighty Mouse previews Van vs Pantoja 2 | 10:04
WHAT’S ANOTHER BIG UNDERCARD STORY?
Um, how about hyped American heavyweight Gable Steveson being branded a “r***st”?
Earlier this month, Steveson’s rival Sean Sharaf took issue with the undefeated Olympic gold medalist being featured by UFC content creator Nina Drama. It followed a serious accusation tied to a 2019 sexual-assault allegation against Steveson, albeit one that did not result in criminal charges.
Quizzed on his dislike for his rival at the press conference, Sharaf replied: “I don’t dislike the guy. [But] nobody likes a rapist. This guy raped a woman in 2019 and that’s why everyone is booing him. You can’t do that s***. It’s wrong.”
Steveson would later reply, in part, by saying of Sharaf’s taunts how “I see a lot of people cheering but we’ll see how many people are cheering when he gets flatlined.”
HOW TO WATCH
Aussie fight fans can catch all the action for UFC 331 LIVE on Main Event via Kayo.
Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.
Fox Sports Australia will also be running a live blog of the event.
WHEN IS IT?
UFC 331 takes place this Sunday, October 20 (Australian time) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
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WHAT TIME?
The UFC 331 main card broadcast starts at 11am AEST.
UFC 331 MAIN CARD
Joshua Van (c) v Alexandre Pantoja
Arman Tsarukyan v Maurício Ruffy
Patrício Pitbull v Choi Doo-ho
Gable Steveson v Sean Sharaf
Alonzo Menifield v Iwo Baraniewski