"I think they’re two of the toughest guys in their respective divisions" - Garry Tonon has high praise for the Ruotolo twins

Garry Tonon has been competing at the highest levels of submission grappling for more than a decade now. This level of experience ultimately gave the American grappler a sharp eye for talent, and he’s using it for his next foray into the circle.

‘The Lion Killer’ will take on Brazilian jiu-jitsu prodigy Tye Ruotolo in a lightweight submission grappling match at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on May 20 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The card will feature the debut of Ruotolo and his twin brother Kade, who will take on Shinya Aoki, while Tonon will be in his second submission grappling match.

Tonon, who is 11 years older than Ruotolo, said in an interview with ONE Championship that he’s excited about matching up against his 19-year-old opponent.

“I think they’re very good, both him and the brother. I look at this as a very difficult challenge. And I truly do believe that Tye and Kade are at the highest level, or are approaching the highest level, of the sport right now as up-and-comers.”

He added:

“I think they’re two of the toughest guys in their respective divisions. So it’s a really exciting opportunity for me to be able to compete against essentially the newer generation of tough grapplers coming up.”

In his extensive fighting career, Garry Tonon has amassed a respectable resume in both mixed martial arts and BJJ. The 30-year-old from New York has five Eddie Bravo Invitational titles and once challenged for the ONE featherweight world title.

Ruotolo, meanwhile, owns a WNO title and was the youngest person to reach the semifinals of the ADCC in 2019 when he was just 16 years old.

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Garry Tonon is up for a generational battle

With their massive age gap, Tonon believes that Ruotolo’s approach will be vastly different from what he was used to.

Garry Tonon said that Ruotolo can easily adapt to the latest BJJ techniques. That, coupled with the hunger of a young fighter, means Tonon knows he’ll be in a tough night.

“With Tye and Kade, they’re on the cutting edge of everything that’s been going on in jiu-jitsu now. These guys have been practicing those things, and when you’re a little bit younger, it’s a little easier for you to adapt. I think these guys have adapted to the level of jiu-jitsu and the quality of jiu-jitsu that exists today, which may be some of my other opponents from my generation hadn’t.”

He added:

“That makes it a much different matchup and a much more difficult matchup because I’m going to be competing against jiu-jitsu in the current era, comparative to competing against jiu-jitsu from my era, which I think was on a different level.”

We'll see how Tonon fares against the rising BJJ star at ONE 157 on May 20.