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ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo made his mixed martial arts debut in his most recent match. And like any significant turn in his martial arts journey, his twin brother, Kade, was present to witness it.
Ruotolo competed in his first MMA match at ONE Fight Night 35 on Sept. 5 against teenage phenom Adrian Lee. He did not disappoint, scoring an impressive second-round submission win by way of rear-naked choke.
While he was at it, Kade, the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion, was at his corner, barking instructions and cheering him on.
Despite the match being his maiden MMA outing, Tye Ruotolo handled it well, taking steady control of the bout right from the get-go.
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He was able to put Lee in a body lock early and landed significant strikes. 'The Phenom', however, was able to wiggle out of the bind as the opening round wore on, and was able to engage standing up.
At the start of the second frame, the protagonists went back-and-forth with their strikes and had their bright moments. Ruotolo then took the match to the ground again, catching Lee with a double-leg takedown. From there he steadily worked his way to finishing the match, finding an angle to sink a rear-naked choke and forcing his opponent to tap out at the 4:14 mark of the round.
ONE Championship looked back at the spirited battle, sharing a split screen video post of the match on its official YouTube channel. It featured Tye Ruotolo in action, with Kade at ringside as well as ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA world champion Christian Lee, who cornered for his younger brother Adrian.
Check out the video post below:
The win at ONE Fight Night 35 also earned Tye Ruotolo a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
With him also competing in MMA, he joined Kade in venturing as well in the multifaceted sport. The latter started his MMA journey last year and has been undefeated in three matches to date.
Tye Ruotolo gives credit to Kade Ruotolo for helping him prepare for MMA debut
Tye Ruotolo gave credit to his brother Kade Ruotolo for helping him prepare for his MMA debut and win.
He touched on it during the post-event interview sessions following his second-round submission victory over Adrian Lee at ONE Fight Night 35 last month. Ruotolo shared he got a lot of pointers from his brother that made him more than ready for fight night.
The 22-year-old Atos standout said:
"I think he was just so excited, and also, he's injured right now. So he's almost like living vicariously through me, it feels like, you know? But everything he has to say, whether he sees it or not, sometimes it seems like I'm brushing it off, but I take it all, you know, and he always has good advice for me for sure."
After tasting victory in his first try at MMA in ONE Championship, Tye Ruotolo said he plans to continue competing in it moving forward alongside his submission grappling campaign.
