American submission grappling wizard Tye Ruotolo walked out of Bangkok with his world title, but he also walked out with a clear understanding of exactly where his game needs to grow.
The ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion successfully defended his 26 pounds of gold for the third time, edging IBJJF No-Gi world champion Pawel Jaworski via unanimous decision.
Their clash served as the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 41: Sinsamut vs. Jarvis on Prime Video on Friday, March 13, inside Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium.
At the post-event press conference, Tye Ruotolo had this to say on the challenges of advancing into dangerous situations against leg-lock specialists:
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“With those guys, it’s really hard. I gotta get better at creating opportunities instead of looking for it because a lot of those leg lockers, they’d rather keep their backs on the mat and not really give up too much at all, in hopes that they’ll cling onto a leg and it doesn’t really give me much opportunity. So, I gotta work on creating that opportunity instead of just looking for it.”
Is there anyone who could stop Tye Ruotolo now?
Based on everything we have seen so far, nobody has come close.
Ruotolo’s triumph against the Academia Gorila martial artist pushed him to 9-0 in submission grappling under the ONE banner.
He also enjoys a perfect 2-0 run in MMA on the global stage, with every performance adding another layer to what is fast becoming one of the most compelling careers in the sport.
Even on a night where he admitted he felt rusty and a step slower than usual, he still found the catches, still controlled the match, and still walked out of the Mecca of Muay Thai as a ONE world champion.
Edited by Aziel Karthak
