Tye Ruotolo lists Jozef Chen scrap last year as toughest test of ONE career: "He's solid and has great technique"

Current ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo has swept his first seven bouts under the world's largest martial arts organization and has an impressive 57 percent finish rate. Among the opponents he defeated, Ruotolo admitted that Jozef Chen was the toughest fight by far when he faced him last July 2024 at ONE Fight Night 23. The 22-year-old BJJ savant revealed this during his recent interview with JitsMagazine:

"So far, I would have to go with Jozef Chen-would be my toughest test so far. At the time, just didn't necessarily have the best performance. Not to take anything away from him. He's solid and has great technique. And I would say that was the toughest match I had."

Watch Tye Ruotolo's interview here:

Despite the hard-fought battle, Ruotolo still won against Chen with a unanimous decision nod from the judges. Now, the Atos representative will make his highly anticipated return to action after months of hiatus due to injury, as he welcomes the challenge of Dante Leon on May 2 at ONE Fight Night 31 for his 26-pound golden belt.

Tye Ruotolo aims to take his talent to MMA this year under ONE Championship

In the same interview with JitsMagazine, Tye Ruotolo shared that he also wants to make his MMA debut later this year under the promotion, much like his twin brother, Kade, has done previously.

But as much as he wants to do it immediately, Ruotolo said that it depends on how things will pan out, especially his upcoming fight with Leon:

"Yes, guaranteed. That's the plan. As long as everything goes according to plan, for sure [I want to make my debut in MMA]."

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can watch all the action at ONE Fight Night 31 on May 2, which will take place inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.