Mauricio Ruffy: The”Brazilian Conor McGregor” Booked For UFC 313

Published by Paul Browne on January 28, 2025

Mauricio Ruffy Joins Strong Brazilian Line Up At UFC 313

When Alex Pereira returns to face Magomed Ankalaev in the main event at UFC 313 on March 8th, he will be spearheading a fight card packed full of exciting Brazilian talent.

Although the event takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the presence of names such as Amanda Lemos, Iasmin Lucindo, Brunno Ferreira, Djorden Santos and Carlos Leal add a certain ‘samba’ flavor to the show.

All bar one of the ten bouts announced for the event so far feature a Brazilian fighter, with the 5-round co-main event between Dan Hooker and Justin Gaethje being the outlier.

“One Shot” Returns To The Octagon

The latest addition to that lineup may be the one with the most potential.

Maurico Ruffy (11-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has enjoyed an excellent start to his UFC career.

After stamping his ticket to the big leagues by way of an impressive win over Raimond Magomedaliev on Dana White’s Contender Series late in 2023, “One Shot” grabbed his opportunity with both hands, knocking out Jamie Mullarkey in the opening round at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro in May.

He followed that performance with an excellent showing over three rounds against James Llontop at UFC 309 in November and has now been booked for his third consecutive pay-per-view event.

The 28-year-old, who fights out of the Fighting Nerds gym in his native Sao Paulo, will be facing a signifigant step up in competition as he squares off against King (formerly ‘Bobby’) Green (32-16-1 MMA, 13-11-1 UFC).

Green has been fighting in the UFC since 2013. The 38-year-old has picked up some impressive wins over his long career but recent losses against Jalin Turner and Paddy Pimblett, either side of a victory over Jim Miller at UFC 300, saw him fall out of the top 15 at 155 lbs.

Ruffy’s scintillating fighting style which combines speed, power and accuracy with an inclination to experiment and be creative inside the Octagon has seen him draw comparisons with a young Conor McGregor.

Positioned on the undercard of an Alex Pereira world title fight and a possible bloodbath between Hooker and Poirier, it isn’t beyond the realms of possibilty that Ruffy might also give fans something spectacular to talk about once UFC 313 is in the rearview mirror.