The UFC strawweights’ fight didn’t exactly end at the final bell of their three-round clash on Saturday. Ruiz appeared to gloat after smothering Buys, and the two had a verbal skirmish that ended with officials from the Nevada Athletic Commission separated them.
Ruiz could be seen giving Buys the bird immediately after the fight. But there was speculation online that she did much more than that, spitting on Buys as she got up.
“No, I didn’t spit on her at all,” Ruiz told reporters via translator after the event at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. “It probably was the momentum. I’m not the kind of person that likes to spit, and if you spit on someone, that’s crossing the line, and that’s not something I was thinking about doing.”
Buys, meanwhile, said that was exactly what happened. In a post to Instagram after the fight, she said Ruiz spit on her and said the act came out of nowhere. She attached a video to the post that made it seem Ruiz at the very least made a gesture that looked like spitting, though it wasn’t clear.
“To all my friends and family I just want to say I am sorry for losing my cool after the fight,” Buys wrote. “I have never in my life been spit on by a opponent that I gave nothing but respect too [sic].”
Ruiz said Buys gave the opposite of respect from the get-go, which led to the bad blood that spilled over afterward in the octagon.
“Everything got started when she insulted my wrestling and my takedowns,” Ruiz said. “She said that I had stupid headlocks and stupid takedowns, and she said that she used to know me. I [said] to her that she didn’t know me and I’d give her a little help so she can taste it. I’m not the kind of person that likes to insult other people. I’m a homegirl.”
Ruiz delivered exactly what Buys allegedly made fun of when they met in the octagon, using headlocks to win takedowns and hold positions. Unable to escape, Buys spent precious minutes on bottom, losing points as her opponent controlled the fight. In the end, judges awarded her the unanimous decision via scores of 29-28 twice and 29-27.
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