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Mauricio Ruffy believes he’s learned from past mistakes, and he plans to prove it on Saturday.

The exciting 155-pound knockout artist is set for a pivotal showdown with Arman Tsarukyan on the UFC 331 card. Fight fans were surprised when the fight was booked, as the expectation was that Tsarukyan was likely to meet Charles Oliveira a second time. This is the biggest fight of Ruffy’s pro MMA career to date, and he feels he’s ready for the moment.

Speaking to reporters during a UFC 331 media day scrum, the Brazilian bruiser said he’s continues to make significant improvements to his game, and he wants to put that on display inside the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (via MMAJunkie).

“I’ve become a better fighter and I think the champion has to have that mentality,” Ruffy said. “I have to bring in that mindset because there’s so many lions in front of you to come into the den and take it away from you. I strive to evolve. It took me out of my comfort zone. Being with Volkanovski is completely out of my comfort zone, but it helped me get together people with people and a different team that have different concepts that basically made me a different person. I’m always evolving.”

UFC CEO Dana White hasn’t committed to granting the winner of Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy a title shot, but an impressive performance from whoever emerges victorious would increase the odds. Of his 14 pro MMA wins, Ruffy has only gone the distance once. The rest of his wins have come via knockout or TKO.

Tsarukyan has only been stopped once in his pro MMA run, and that was his second bout all the way back in late 2015. If Ruffy can become the first man to stop a prime version of “Batman,” he might punch his ticket to a UFC title shot.

Do you think Mauricio Ruffy has improved enough to defeat Arman Tsarukyan, or will he struggle with his opponent’s grappling on Saturday? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM