"I was couch-locked" - Tye Ruotolo details challenging recovery period leading up to ONE Fight Night 31 return

The worst stretch in any athlete's career is one that eventually hits them all: being sidelined with an injury. No one is exempt - not even ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo. And while he's known for keeping things high-energy and aggressive on the mats, recovery forced him into a place he wasn't used to: keeping still.

He spoke about this in an interview with ONE Championship ahead of his upcoming bout:

"I'd say the two weeks after the injury, I was couch-locked. It was the first time I was ever really, really blown out like that."

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“The biggest injury I’ve had” - Tye Ruotolo reveals severity of knee injury that kept him out of action

By his admission, this wasn't a minor tweak. Tye Ruotolo has dealt with knee issues before, but nothing quite like this one that kept him off the mats for the better part of a year.

"It was the biggest injury I’ve had in jiu-jitsu," he said. "I’ve had some torn ligaments before in my knee, but nothing quite to the extent and the amount of damage I did this last time."

The time off gave him perspective, but also built a gnawing sense of hunger. Tonight, he'll be feeding the beast as he heads into ONE Fight Night 31 to defend his ONE welterweight submission grappling world title against long-time rival Dante Leon.

This marks their trilogy fight and the first one under the ONE Championship banner. With both men tied at one win each, this third fight will settle once and for all who the better grappler is - and award the victor with 26 pounds of gold to take home.

ONE Fight Night 31 takes place on May 2 at 9 PM Eastern Time. Fight fans in Canada and North America can stream it live with an active Prime Video subscription.