“One Shot” wasn’t anywhere near 100 percent.

Rising Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight contender Mauricio Ruffy delivered one of the most impressive performances of UFC 325 last night (Sat., Jan. 26, 2026), knocking out Rafael Fiziev in the featured bout inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (watch highlights).

What makes the win even more remarkable? According to those closest to him, it’s a small miracle he competed at all.

UFC Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who trained alongside Ruffy throughout camp, revealed during the UFC 325 post-fight press conference that the Brazilian was dealing with severe health issues all week.

“I’ll tell you something… we’re lucky he even turned up this week, if you knew half the stuff he went through,” Volkanovski told reporters. “He had legit Influenza A at the start of the week — crazy fevers. I didn’t even think he’d be able to make the weight cut, so we had to mentally get him through that.”

“And then he even had big troubles today and couldn’t move,” Volkanovski continued. “But we told him he had to mentally get himself in there. He got himself around it and went out and did what he does against someone like Rafa. Incredible, man. A lot of respect for him to even turn up tonight.”

Between the flu, debilitating fevers, and mobility issues just hours before fight time, Ruffy entered UFC 325 under brutal circumstances — all while carrying immense pressure after suffering his first UFC loss, a lopsided defeat to Benoit Saint-Denis (watch highlights).

Instead of folding, Ruffy embodied a phrase Volkanovski often lives by: adversity is a privilege.

The Brazilian looked sharp, confident, and dangerous, instantly restoring the hype he carried prior to that setback. With the victory, Ruffy is expected to leap into the Lightweight Top 10 — likely claiming Fiziev’s No. 9 ranking when the updated standings are released.

That sets him up for a major opportunity in his next outing — though it probably won’t be the Paddy Pimblett fight he called for.

For complete UFC 325 results and play-by-play, click here.