UFC: After defeat, Brazilian reveals changes in her career

Maurício Ruffy spoke for the first time since suffering a surprising defeat to Benoit Saint-Dennis at UFC Paris on September 6. The Brazilian avoided making excuses to justify the result and made some adjustments for the next steps.

Ruffy was the favorite to beat the Frenchman, but in the octagon, he was unable to put his takedown defenses into practice and ended up being submitted in the second round, suffering his first defeat in the Ultimate.

"I wasn't feeling well, and I'm not here to apologize to anyone. Just look at all my other fights. I asked no one to speak out or defend me. If the situation were ideal, I would have knocked him out. The world may doubt me, but my work is credible," he said in an interview with the Laerte Viana na Área YouTube channel.

Maurício declined to reveal what happened before the fight that ultimately hampered his performance, but he denied that the defeat left him psychologically shaken—quite the opposite. The Brazilian is already excited about the next steps.

"It lit a fire in me to seek improvement. What happened got the best of me. I'm looking for different training options, and I'll be training abroad for a while. If I had won the fight, they probably would have pitted me against Charles [Oliveira] in Rio de Janeiro," he said.

The main change Luffy has planned for his career is his training style. He won't be changing his technique, but he will be undergoing a temporary change of environment; he'll be training outside of Fighting Nerds for the next few months.

"Are you training with the guys you hang out with later? The goal is to get your ass kicked in training; once you've gone through that, you're ready for the challenges. I'm looking to train against the best. I'll be spending some time at [Henry] Cejudo's gym. He called me and really wants to see me become a champion," he revealed.

Maurício will train with names like Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski, the current UFC featherweight champion, and has the support of his Fighting Nerds colleagues—there was no breakup. "I'll always be a Fighting Nerd, regardless of where I am," he declared.

The Brazilian has already done some training in Australia and is negotiating his next fight on a card that will take place in the country in February 2026, but he has not revealed his opponent.

• Instagram
• X
• YouTube
• Facebook
• WhatsApp