Edson Barboza calls UFC 331 star an ‘improved version of me’

Edson Barboza, a former UFC fighter, has praised Mauricio Ruffy as an "improved version" of himself. Barboza, who recently retired from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, believes Ruffy is one of his favorite fighters to watch. They recently trained together at American Top Team. Ruffy is set to face Arman Tsarukyan in the co-main event of UFC 331 on September 19 in Los Angeles.

Barboza recently discussed the matchup with Sherdog, noting that Ruffy reminds him of UFC legend Anderson Silva. Barboza stated that Ruffy is extremely creative and skilled, and he just needs one opportunity to finish a fight. Ruffy is the improved version of Barboza, according to the fighter. Barboza also compared Tsarukyan to Khabib Nurmagomedov, who he faced in 2017.

He acknowledged that Tsarukyan is impressive, but noted that he is different from Nurmagomedov. Tsarukyan comes at you constantly and is always looking to advance and find the finish, while Nurmagomedov controls you more and looks for submissions. Barboza concluded that Ruffy only needs one opportunity to finish the fight and described the matchup as a classic striker vs. grappler showdown.