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Australian BJJ star Izaak Michell will lock horns with Tye Ruotolo for the ONE welterweight submission grappling world title at ONE Fight Night 21 on April 5th. This will be the first time Michell will be fighting for world championship gold in his young career.
What makes this match-up more interesting is the fact that both grapplers will be competing at the ADCC World Championships in August of this year. Regardless of who wins the world title bout next week, the two could possibly clash once again in the 88kg category at the "Olympics of Grappling" a few months later.
On possibly facing Tye Ruotolo again at ADCC, Michell told ONE:
“Yeah, that's a really exciting matchup. So Tye and I, I thought we would fight during the last ADCC. We were in the 88-kg bracket together, so we're going to end up being in the same bracket later on in the year at ADCC. So, we both knew that we were going to one day come against each other.”
This budding rivalry might become an exciting series of bouts. Whoever loses the world title fight on April 5 will want to avenge the loss at ADCC. If that man wins, a third rubber match might be needed to settle the score.
Izaak Michell believes he has the tools to counter Tye Ruotolo's frenetic pace
If you see footage of Tye Ruotolo's grappling played alongside Izaak Michell's, you'll see strong similarities. Both grapplers employ an attacking mindset with a pace that can make your heart stop just by watching.
Ruotolo uses his insane athleticism to mount one submission attack after another, making it difficult for his opponents to deal with his chained offense. On why he will have no problem countering Ruotolo's unstoppable offense, Izaak Michell told ONE:
“I think one of my biggest strengths as a grappler is my timing and my ability to change my intensity throughout the match. I think I’m able to be pretty conscious of what’s happening, and I have good reactions to everything.”
Catch Izaak Michell lock horns with Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 21 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, airing live on US Primetime free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.
