"They will do really well" - Christian Lee on a possible Ruotolo Brothers MMA transition

Former ONE Championship title holder Christian Lee has made some comments on the grappling phenom brothers Tye and Kade Ruotolo. The 24-year-old fighter spoke with ONE in an interview regarding their Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and potential move to MMA.

Earlier this year, Tye Ruotolo submitted American grappling ace Garry Tonon in just 1:24 using a D'arce Choke. At the same event, Kade Ruotolo rolled with Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki. Kade won this bout via unanimous decision.

Speaking to ONE, the former titleholder 'The Warrior' Lee said:

“Definitely, they’re world-class grapplers... But it’s a very big transition going from grappling to MMA. I think right now they’re doing a great job in grappling... I think if they made the decision and they started fighting [in MMA], they will do really well. They’ll probably make it up to the top of the division.”

Christian Lee is a veteran MMA fighter and also has a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt. He said he was highly impressed with the grappling skills of the Ruotolo Brothers. Speaking to ONE, he said:

“I was pretty impressed with the Ruotolo brothers, going into their grappling matches and taking out [their tough opponents]. One of the brothers submitted Garry Tonon and the other one [got] a dominating win against Shinya [Aoki]. I thought that was really impressive. They’re both great grapplers, Shinya and Garry."

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Christian Lee eyes submission grappling matches?

Former champion Christian Lee had impressively defended his ONE Lightweight World Championship title in two bouts and won both via first-round knockouts.

Last year, he faced South Korean fighter Ok Rae Yoon in a very close title fight in which he lost his title via unanimous decision. Lee is now back on the path to regaining his title. However, down the line, he potentially has his eyes on trying submission grappling.

In an interview with ONE, he said:

“I do feel like I can step in there and grapple with the top grapplers in the world. But there’s just little things [to take into account]... So while I’m fighting, while I’m still active in MMA, I think I’m going to stick to that. But you know, maybe later on down the line, once I’m not so active in MMA, then I’ll look to do other things like grappling.”

'The Warrior' Christian Lee does not have an official fight scheduled, but the top-ranked fighter will likely return later this year.