“Doing them both simultaneously” - Tye Ruotolo promises to remain active in grappling once he makes his MMA debut

Tye Ruotolo has made it clear that he'll follow in his twin brother Kade's footsteps and enter the mixed martial arts realm sometime this year. The 22-year-old, after all, possesses elite grappling acumen tailor-made for MMA, and his striking has also come a long way.

While this is indeed terrific news for fight fans, some wonder if Ruotolo could juggle both combat sports and still be as active in submission grappling.

The reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling kingpin, though, made it clear that he'll continue to live up to his responsibilities as champion. The youngest IBJJF world champion told JitsMagazine in a recent interview:

"And for MMA, I love it just as much almost. It's a new passion, but I'm having so much love and there's just a lot of excitement in that for me right now, too. So, definitely going to have to be doing them both simultaneously. And I know it's going to be difficult, but my brother and I are going to do it together, and we're going to make it happen."

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo raced to a sensational 3-0 start in his mixed martial arts career. Considering Tye pretty much possesses the same skillset, it's interesting to see how he'll fare in his own MMA journey.

Watch the interview in its entirety:

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Tye Ruotolo strengthened his legs for world title defense vs. Dante Leon

Tye Ruotolo's MMA transition was further put on hold following a knee injury that sidelined him for 10 months. Now with a clean bill of health, the Atos standout made sure his legs had gotten stronger, especially with a new threat looming.

Tye Ruotolo will defend his welterweight submission grappling crown against Dante Leon at ONE Fight Night 31 this coming Friday. He told ONE:

"Just doing all the sports that I love, but just at a lighter level. I started to do more lifting, got in the gym more than I usually do, too. Just been trying to put more muscle on these legs and straighten this knee up."

ONE Fight Night 31 will emanate from Bangkok's iconic Lumpinee Stadium on May 2, live in US primetime. The full event is free for Prime Video subscribers in North America