ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo continues to build his legacy in the sport. Meanwhile, a potential mixed martial arts debut is looming on the horizon for the American star.
The 21-year-old phenom most recently outpointed teenage sensation Jozef Chen at ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs. Rasulov on Prime Video this past weekend after a hard-fought catchweight submission grappling battle.
Alongside his twin brother Kade, Ruotolo has taken grappling to a whole new level on the global stage with ONE.
Kade made his highly anticipated MMA debut last month when he took out Blake Cooper by rear-naked choke at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II.
While Tye still has unfinished business in the submission grappling world, it hasn’t stopped him from dreaming of following his brother into MMA.
Tye Ruotolo says that his striking is better than his brother Kades’s
After notching yet another win under submission grappling rules at ONE Fight Night 23, Tye Ruotolo is still working on his skills while looking ahead to fighting under MMA rules.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference on July 6, Ruotolo revealed where his striking skills are at after his brother showed surprisingly refined standup in his MMA debut.
“One hundred percent, I think it’s a little bit better than Kade’s. But yeah, I can’t wait to do MMA. I’m so excited to go. I’ve been watching my brother’s last fight, it got me so fired up. It was so rad to see him,” he said.
“We always grew up watching MMA fights, and we always knew that we wanted to be MMA fighters one day, too, not just [become] fighters, but the best. So, I’m happy to get this win in jiu-jitsu, it’s one more for the legacy. My legacy is not done. I want to be the best in the world of jiu-jitsu, no questions, no matter what. I know I’m on my way.”
“I think right now, we’re probably considered the best, my brother and I, for sure. But I want to be pound-for-pound the best in the world. So, I’m not going to stop until I get to that. But an MMA fight, that’s such a big thing for me, so I’m excited to be a part of the race there too.”
The Ruotolo brother’s legacy is hard to deny at this point.
Tye has won all seven of his bouts under the ONE banner, and he has reigned as the promotion’s welterweight submission grappling king since the belt’s inception in 2023.