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Tye Ruotolo threw everything but the kitchen sink at his challenger Dante Leon at ONE Fight Night 31 on May 2 to successfully retain his ONE welterweight submission grappling world title.
While he clearly won the 10-minute showdown with his constant pressure, nifty passing, and top-heavy attacks, the 22-year-old BJJ superstar rues not getting the submission against the Canadian powerhouse.
It wasn't for the lack of trying, though, as Ruotolo created multiple leg-lock entries after instigating wild scrambles. The well-rounded and defensively sound Leon, however, was able to escape each time.
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In his post-event interview, Tye Ruotolo expressed some disappointment about not getting the tap, especially since he submitted Leon back in 2021:
"The last time I got to fight him, I just had a little bit more time to work with. I was able to get the catch in the later minutes. He’s a very safe fighter, so it's hard to expose him sooner in the match than later. I had maybe one little opportunity that I tried to hop on with an ‘Estima lock’ and a couple of knee bars, but just nothing that was tight enough."
To be fair, Leon deserves some credit for surviving Ruotolo's trademark onslaught. Watch the full replay of that epic chess match at ONE Fight Night 31 on demand with a Prime Video subscription in North America.
Tye Ruotolo has nothing but love and respect for Dante Leon
Tye Ruotolo has now dueled Dante Leon three times and has effectively wrapped up their rivalry with a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head matchups.
Like a true martial artist who always respects his opponents, the youngest IBJJF world champion thanked his challenger for giving him another tough challenge.
The Atos standout gave Leon his much-deserved flowers in his in-ring interview with Mitch Chilson:
"Man, much respect for Dante, thank you so much. Give him a round of applause, Dante, a great representation of jiu-jitsu. I’m stoked to have a good performance."
