MMA

Mauricio Ruffy reacts to Elon Musk wearing Fighting Nerds glasses at UFC 309

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Jon Jones and other UFC stars wore Fighting Nerds glasses at the UFC APEX when Carlos Prates flattened Neil Magny at the UFC Vegas 100 main event. Seven days later, Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk was the one rocking the apparel following Mauricio Ruffy’s dominant win over James Llontop at UFC 309.

Musk was sitting cageside at Madison Square Garden right next to president-elect Donald Trump and UFC CEO Dana White when Ruffy walked out to his fight, and had a big smile on his face after the entertaining 15-minute clash.

“It was very cool [that Musk wore the glasses], and even cooler to see them in person,” Ruffy told MMA Fighting. “The impression I had is that they were there to watch my fight, because I went in to fight right after they arrived. They sat there, and it was a great fight. I almost finished [Llontop] twice, and it was a very exciting fight.”

“When I jumped on the cage and saw Elon Musk and Donald Trump… I told Trump I was very happy he won [the election], and told Elon Musk it was cool to have him there. He clapped and smiled, and said something to me that I didn’t understand. But I was very happy to see them there. No words, man.”

Fighting Nerds leader Pablo Sucupira was the brains behind the idea to wear “nerd glasses” after MMA fights, and it has become a thing for the team in the UFC with Ruffy, Prates, Caio Borralho, Jean Silva, Thiago Moises and Bruna Brasil.

“I remember when he came to the gym with that idea and asked for our thoughts on it, and Caio said it didn’t look cool,” Ruffy said with a laugh. “Pablo insisted, said it would be good. I liked it more than others. Some agreed, others didn’t, and now everybody is talking about the glasses. People asked me for glasses everywhere I go. I’m happy it became a thing, and it goes to show how good Pablo is.”

Ruffy is now 2-0 in the UFC after the unanimous decision victory and said the fact Llontop missed weight for a catchweight bout helped him survive for 15 minutes. Ruffy said that members of Llontop’s team told him backstage after UFC 309 that the fighter weighed around 198 pounds during the match, gaining 32 pounds since the official weigh-ins on Friday morning.

“32 pounds, I think that’s why he wasn’t knocked out,” Ruffy said. “That’s why I don’t see it as a perfect victory for me, because I wanted to knock him out. Every time I go in there, I want the knockout. It didn’t happen this time, but I think people liked it.”

Now riding a six-fight winning streak with 10 knockouts in 11 professional MMA victories, Ruffy hopes to face Benoit Saint Denis or King Green next inside the octagon.

“I’m very excited for a fight with Saint Denis,” Ruffy said. “I think that would be such a cool fight. Some people are advising me to go slow and whatnot, but everything I’ve been through in my life and career earns me that opportunity. The hype is nice, people are talking, and Saint Denis is coming off two losses, so it’s an interesting fight. Another fight that would also be very interesting is Bobby Green.

“I’d love to fight any of those two names. I’m hoping the UFC will send me a good name and we’ll fight soon. I’m taking a break now, but already thinking about fights.”

 

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