Tye Ruotolo admits twin brother Kade has better striking right now: “Real crisp and sharp”

Tye Ruotolo (L) with twin brother Kade | Image by ONE Championship
Tye Ruotolo (L) with twin brother Kade | Image by ONE Championship

ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo surprised a lot of fans with his impressive striking skills in his mixed martial arts debut at ONE Fight Night 35 last Friday.

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However, the 22-year-old BJJ ace humbly conceded that his twin brother Kade Ruotolo still has the better hands.

Tye Ruotolo sent the crowd in Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium into a frenzy after submitting Adrian Lee with a rear-naked choke in their three-round lightweight MMA battle.

The youngest IBJJF world champion refused to back down against ‘The Phenom’, who had more experience in MMA. Ruotolo landed clean punches, sharp elbows, and effective kicks against the Singaporean-American and handed him his first career loss.

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During the ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger post-fight Interviews, a gracious Ruotolo thanked everyone who complimented his striking skills.

According to the Atos standout, his improvements were inspired by his sibling Kade, since he didn’t want to get left behind.

"Yeah, thanks, you know, my brother, Kade, he had three MMA fights, and the striking started to get real crisp and sharp, better than mine, for sure," he said.
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The full replay of Ruotolo’s $50,000 performance bonus-winning performance is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Tye Ruotolo proud to showcase his striking skills in MMA debut

Tye Ruotolo had the utmost confidence in his god-tier grappling abilities as he entered his first foray into mixed martial arts.

The 22-year-old, though, was eager to showcase the hard work he put in to make his striking on point. Ruotolo certainly turned a lot of heads after he more than held his own on the feet against the more experienced Lee.

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The ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion told Mitch Chilson in his in-ring interview:

"It feels good to let my hands go. The whole camp, Kade told me to keep my chin down, so I tried to. Definitely got clipped a couple times, but, oh, what a match. Thank you so much."

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Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim
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