Mauricio Ruffy had a field day with his UFC 301 opponent. The debutant successfully defeated Jamie Mullarkey in the very first round as he knocked on the doors of the lightweight division. Interestingly, his debut was marked by a callout to the champion, Islam Makhachev, after winning the lightweight bout in the prelims.
“I have a message for Islam Makhachev: Enjoy your days at the top. I know you are upset cause I beat your friend. But enjoy your days because a new king is coming,” said Mauricio Ruffy after the victory. ‘One Shot’ looked dominant in his debut fight and people who witnessed it compared it with Conor McGregor as he not only looked like the former dual weight champion but also fought like him as well.
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Ruffy took Mullarkey to a pain hell for 18 seconds as in the final seconds of the very first round. ‘One Shot’ threw a nasty knee that dropped Mullarkey to the canvas and what followed was a barrage of heavy punches that crumbled the Australian.
This victory took 30-year-old Ruffy’s winning record to 10-1 in his MMA career. The Brazilian seemed motivated after his victory as he never looked back when he challenged Islam Makhachev for a fight. His sudden callout confused the fans as this was just his debut fight.
Fans seemed confused as Mauricio Ruffy challenged Islam Makhachev
Ruffy’s victory stunned the UFC CEO Dana White as he took to his X handle to state that his debut might be one of the best of all time. Similarly, Daniel Cormier termed Ruffy’s victory flawless. The debutant might have impressed the MMA goats but challenging the champion with just two fights in the promotion was a bit far-fetched from the Brazilian.
Starting off, former UFC fighter, Derek Brunson believes that Ruffy has a fighting style that is awfully similar to that of Conor McGregor
“Ruffy has Conor McGregor fighting style/stance bar for bar.”
Furthermore, Islam Makhachev nearly fights every fight in the Middle Eastern nation of UAE. A fan stated that Makhachev might demand a fight in Abu Dhabi soon but well the fan was being sarcastic here.
“Islam about to demand they fight in Abu Dhabi”
Interestingly, Ruffy scored a victory against Islam Makhachev’s training partner back in his DWCS days.
“For those who dont know, he beat a russian fighter… Makhachev training partner in the DWCS. Also a huge domination. Ruffy is special.”
Moreover, a fan seems to be rooting for the Brazilian against Islam Makhachev.
“He does look so much bigger than Islam, I’m not sure of his grappling skills but it’s way too early for him to be calling out the champ”
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Furthermore, another fan raised eyebrows against Ruffy as he challenged the champion just after winning his debut match.
“Just make debut then talk to the champ? You’re so funny”
Last but not least, another fan took a dig at Ruffy for his unfathomable callout.
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“Who’s this nobody? Hahaha Islam laughing at corner”
Islam Makhachev is one the limelight right now considering the fact that he has the crown by him to show for. Nonetheless, what’s your take on Mauricio Ruff’s challenge against Islam Makhachev? State your thoughts in the comments below.