UFC 313 has already gotten off to a huge start, as there have been plenty of finishes in the prelims. However, the main card opened up with a lightweight bout between Mauricio Ruffy and King Green.
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Ruffy and Green were going after one another in the first round, and Green got rocked a bit early. However, after some back and forth, Ruffy threw a wheel kick, striking Green right in the side of the head.
Green collapsed to the ground immediately, leading to Ruffy scoring the knockout win.
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Ruffy entered the bout with a seven-fight win streak, as he has wins dating back to when he fought with APM in June 2022. Following his win with that promotion, the lightweight moved to Centurion FC, where he picked up wins against Ronys Torres by KO/TKO and Corneliu Rotaru by KO/TKO.
Ruffy was then given a shot to join the UFC by competing in Dana White’s Contender Series. After another first-round KO/TKO win against Raimond Magomedaliev, White awarded the star lightweight with a contract.
Ruffy would follow that up with a win against Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 301. It appeared the lightweight was going to be hard to stop, and he would eventually face off against James Llontop at UFC 309.
Ruffy had five straight KO/TKO victories until he faced off against Llontop, but still managed to walk away with a unanimous decision in Nov. 2024. Now, as part of the kick-off for UFC 313, Ruffy showcased his devastating power yet again.
Green was meant to be the toughest challenge of Ruffy’s career, but the masterful wheel kick sent the former title challenger to the canvas.
Green, on the other hand, has had an up-and-down career as of late. Apart from his loss to Ruffy, the former title challenger also suffered a submission loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 304 in July 2024.
Green is currently 1-3 in his last four outings, suffering losses to Jalin Turner, the aforementioned Pimblett, and now Ruffy. Though Green is still a high-level talent in the UFC, he is falling into the dangerous area of having too many losses in a row.
For now, Green will have to go back to the drawing board and determine what his next move is. For Ruffy, this massive win is going to propel him up the lightweight rankings and could lead to him getting a massive fight next.
Ruffy called out Beniel Dariush after his knockout of Green, and the UFC might just grant that call out.
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