Chandler picks Mauricio Ruffy to upset Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 331

The UFC lightweight bout between Mauricio Ruffy and Arman Tsarukyan shapes up as one of the biggest fights in the division — a de facto No. 1 contender's match. Tsarukyan, the top-ranked lightweight who lost a title shot to injury, is desperate to earn another crack at the belt, while Ruffy has been riding a wave of momentum with the kind of flashy striking that has drawn comparisons to Conor McGregor in his prime.

Michael Chandler, who faced Ruffy in his most recent fight, boldly backed the underdog. Having traded punches with Ruffy firsthand, Chandler said the Brazilian hits far harder than most people realize.

Ruffy has stopped both Rafael Fiziev and Chandler by TKO in back-to-back fights, cementing his reputation as one of the most dangerous strikers in the lightweight division. Fighting out of a wide, upright karate stance, he delivers sharp, powerful single shots that have led many fans to dub him the "Brazilian McGregor."

Appearing on "The Ariel Helwani Show" recently, Chandler said Tsarukyan is a skilled and consistently active fighter who almost certainly has a solid game plan to beat Ruffy. "But the question is whether he can actually execute that game plan," Chandler said. "I think Ruffy is going to land some big shots."

Chandler predicted Tsarukyan would avoid a stand-up exchange and instead look to take the fight to the ground. "Arman is obviously going to try for takedowns — he's not going to want to stand and trade with Ruffy, so he'll try to pressure him on the ground," he said. "But I couldn't do it either. Ruffy has momentum on his side right now, while Arman has a ring-rust problem from time away from competition." Chandler said he doubted Tsarukyan's ground strategy would pay off.

Outside observers still lean toward Tsarukyan, who is widely regarded as a grappling specialist even if critics find his style dull. According to international bookmaker Betway, Tsarukyan is listed at -400 to win, while Ruffy is the underdog at +300.

Ruffy and Tsarukyan meet in the co-main event of UFC 331, set for Saturday (local time) in Los Angeles. The winner is widely expected to face current lightweight champion Justin Gaethje next. The main event features a flyweight title rematch between champion Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja.