Mauricio Ruffy breaks his silence on his UFC Paris loss and reveals he fought 'without body control'

Mauricio Ruffy was completed by Benoit Saint-Denis No. UFC Paris (Photo: Twitter/UFC)

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Mauricio Ruffy decided to speak out after the setback suffered last Saturday (6), in Paris. Scheduled to face Benoit Saint-Denis in front of the French fans, the Brazilian ended up being defeated by submission in the second round and suffered his first defeat in the Ultimate.

Three days after the result, the lightweight (up to 70,3 kg) took to social media to thank fans for their support and explain the unprecedented feeling of not being able to perform his game inside the octagon. The Brazilian cited "situations that happened," but didn't elaborate further for fear that his speech would sound like an excuse.

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"I'm here to thank you all for your kindness, for all the messages I've received. I'm very focused on the present moment. (...) Things really happened that I won't mention here so as not to sound like an excuse, but for the first time in my life, I entered the octagon without control of my body. My body literally wouldn't respond. I won't explain what happened, but I will say that I'll come back stronger and I'm happy with this learning experience. The internet always acts the same way. When you win, it's a phenomenon. When you lose, there's a lot of criticism. It's all part of it," lamented Ruffy.

Despite the frustration, Ruffy stated that he sees the episode as part of the process of career development and reinforced his confidence that he will become UFC champion in the future.

"I'm exactly where I need to be today to become the man I'll become tomorrow. I'm happy with the whole process and all the learning. I'm dedicated to every lesson. Now it's time to enjoy this time with my family, get through this, get back to training soon, and soon fight and perform as I normally do. Absolutely nothing has changed. I'm going to become UFC champion. This is my process. I'm going to adjust everything so I never go up there again and feel like I can't fight."

the fight against Benoit Saint-Denis marked Ruffy's first loss in the UFC. Before the Paris bout, the 29-year-old from São Paulo had won three straight in the organization, including a devastating debut over Jamie Mullarkey No. UFC 301, in Rio de Janeiro, and triumphs against James Llontop e King Green.