Alexander Volkanovski and Mauricio Ruffy have been in close proximity in recent months due to their training camps for UFC 325, which took place last Saturday (31) in Sydney, Australia. The good relationship between the two ended up generating access to more privileged information, the kind that can compromise an athlete's performance. After the Brazilian's victory, the Australian revealed a situation that was totally restricted until then.
During the post-UFC 325 press conference, the current featherweight champion (up to 65,7 kg) spoke about various topics, and among them, 'The Great' commented on Ruffy's pre-fight preparation and how he came to admire the Brazilian even more for his effort in reaching the ideal weight for the fight against Rafael Fiziev , in addition to dealing with a severe flu days before his confrontation in the octagon.
"Let me tell you something. We were lucky that he ( Mauricio Ruffy ) showed up this week, if you only knew half of what he went through. He caught a really bad case of the flu at the beginning of the week, with very high fevers. I didn't even think he would be able to make weight, so we had to give him all the necessary psychological support to overcome it."
"He even had great difficulties today and couldn't move, but we told him he needed to focus mentally. He persevered and did what he knows how to do against someone like Rafa (Fiziev). Incredible, man. Much respect for him just for showing up tonight," said Alexander Volkanovski at the post-UFC 325 press conference about the Brazilian.
Alexander Volkanovski reveals Mauricio Ruffy battled a serious flu and fight-day complications before stepping into #UFC325
"I'll tell you something. We're lucky he even turned up this week if you knew half the stuff he went through. He had legit Influenza A at the start of the… pic.twitter.com/lpqy1fLlRr
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) February 1, 2026
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It's worth remembering that shortly after Alexander Volkanovski detailed the challenges Mauricio Ruffy faced before stepping into the octagon against Rafael Fiziev , the Fighting Nerds athlete also went into more detail about the ordeal in an interview.
Check out the results of UFC 325
MAIN CARD
Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Alexander Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45) – Title fight
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Benoit Saint Denis defeated Dan Hooker by technical knockout (punches and elbows) at 4:45 of round 2.
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Mauricio Ruffy defeated Rafael Fiziev by technical knockout (punches) at 4:30 of round 2.
Heavyweight (up to 120,2 kg): Tallison Teixeira defeated Tai Tuivasa by unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 28-29)
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Quillan Salkilld defeated Jamie Mullarkey by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:01 of Round 1.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Light heavyweight (up to 93 kg): Billy Elekana defeated Junior Tafa by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:18 of round 2.
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Cam Rowston defeated Cody Brundage by technical knockout (punches) at 4:08 of round 2.
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Jacob Malkoun defeated Torrez Finney by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Welterweight (up to 77 kg): Jonathan Micallef defeated Oban Elliott by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:31 of round 2.
Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Kaan Ofli defeated Yi Zha by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Dom Mar Fan defeated SangWook Kim by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Keiichiro Nakamura defeated Sebastian Szalay by technical knockout (knee strike) at 3:38 of round 3.
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Lawrence Lui defeated Sulangrangbo by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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