Fresh from a trip to Arizona where he watched his fighter Jean Silva
earn your seventh
Ultimate Fighting Championship victory, Flavio Alvaro spoke with Sherdog on Tuesday about Saturday’s UFC main event between the formers
Fighting nerds outstanding Mauricio Ruffy and No. 2 in the lightweight rankings Arman Tsarukyan.
“Funny, Ruffy was the one who brought me to the Fighting Nerds. He trained with me from the age of 18-24, then joined the Fighting Nerds and introduced me to Sucupira there. Today, he’s still a brother to me, even though he’s no longer with us,” said Alvaro, who worked as a coach for the Brazilian national team.
Flavio Alvaro explains why he sees it as a rare talent Mauricio Ruffy ahead of UFC 331
Alvaro has high praise for Ruffy’s skills, going so far as to compare the UFC lightweight to one of the greatest Brazilian footballers of all time.
“I can say for sure that he is the most skilled man I have seen in MMA. He is a genius. If I had to compare him to football, which is Brazil’s favorite sport, I would say he is Ronaldinho,” said Alvaro.
Despite his admiration for Ruffy, Alvaro admitted that Tsarukyan is one of the toughest style matchups the Brazilian could face at lightweight.
“Tsarukyan is the favorite because of his experience. He’s extremely tough. He has that warrior spirit, that refusal to ever give up or give up. But we have to understand where Luffy’s confidence is, where his head is and how his gas tank is,” Alvaro said.
“If Luffy is 100%, I don’t think this fight will make it to the third round. It will be a massacre.”
