Pantoja coach comments on the Brazilian's future and reveals behind the scenes of Tsarukyan's knockout: 'I worked with him'

Before the event: Marcos Parrumpa's schedule at ATT

In UFC 331, held on Saturday night (19), Marcos Parrumpa, coach of American Top Team (ATT), was one of the most active names behind the scenes. The Brazilian, known as Parrumpinha, was in the corner of Arman Tsarukyan and Alexandre Pantoja in the two main fights of the night.

Parrumpa's routine sums up the pressure of working with two elite athletes at once: defining strategy, dealing with the crowd around the cage, absorbing the result and then thinking about the next appointment.

Arman vs. Ruffy: From falling strategy to the elbow shot that closed out the first round

The fight between Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy ended with a right elbow from the NIO army, which wiped out the Brazilian in the final seconds of the first round.

Ruffy's only defeat in the Ultimate before Saturday (19) had come by Benoit Saint Denis, who abused his belts to knock down, control and finalise the Brazilian.

The strategy also took into account the improvement that Mauricio had been showing after training with Alexander Volkanovski.

"What makes the grappler fatigued is that adrenaline of not being able to kick down, of not getting NEM into a fall. That's going to make the guy nervous, and the adrenaline eats up the gas", he explained.

After pressing Maurício Ruffy against the grid, Arman exploded with two lethal elbows and closed out the fight in the final seconds of the first round.

The 'coup father' debate: Demetrious Johnson, N3on and the response of Parrumpa

A few minutes after the fight ended, a video of Arman training similar movement with Demetrious Johnson, the eternal Mighty Mouse, went viral on social media.

For Parrumpa, this reading is naïveté. "If you believe that it was N3on who told Arman to elbow down", he said, "you're very naive, aren't you?"

The coach acknowledges that Demetrious Johnson may try to take some of the credit, but stresses that the prep work was done by him and Giorgio Petrosian: "We are both responsible for this elbow".

On N3on, Parrumpa was direct in describing streamer 's performance on the corner. According to the coach, the American was extremely polite, respectful and quiet from the moment the team entered the arena until they left the cage. In his vision, Arman mentioned N3one to sell a narrative while streamer stood there as figuration with good energy.

Pantoja v Van: unanimous decision, heading ADA and the numbers separating the judges

If Arman's fight became a debate over who deserved credit for the knockout, that of Alexandre Pantoja ended more painfully.

The fight was marked by Van's ADA head cutting Pantoja in the face, but most of it came from the judges. Of the three names that evaluated the match, only Derek Cleary gave two rounds to Pantoja, with 48-47. Sal DAmato saw only the fourth round for the Brazilian, 49-46, while Ron Mccarthy scored 5-0 for Van, 50-45.

Parrumpa disagrees with the reading of DAmato and McCarthy, but does not deny that there was a round that hung for the American.

In my opinion, it was three rounds for Van and two for Pantoja. I don't think anyone except Sal DAmAmato and Ron McCarthy disagrees that the first and fourth were Alexander's, he said. As well as the third and fifth were Van's.

After Saturday (19): rest for Pantoja and preparation for Tom Nolan

Despite the loss, Parrumpa was proud of Pantoja's performance. The trainer revealed that Dana White called it "the best flyweight belt fight in UFC history".

The retirement theme has surfaced among fans, who have speculated whether Pantoja, facing a much younger opponent, could end his career.

"I don't like to have a serious conversation after the fight because there are so many emotions. Something that he was suddenly feeling there, today, Wednesday 23rd, all of a sudden he is feeling different. He said some things there and I said others and we talked about various subjects but I think all this can change", she explained.

The key word, according to the coach, is rest. Pantoja must enjoy family, children, recover himself, put his body back on 100% and relax before any talk about future. Only after that will the team sit down, talk and decide next steps.

While Pantoja's future is being handled calmly, Marcos Parrumpa's schedule already points to the next appointment. The coach continues preparing Renato Moicano for the confrontation with Tom Nolan, keeping ATT routine in motion between UFC 331 results and backstage of the next cycle.

== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man