Tye Ruotolo praises Nong-O's bonus-winning display vs Kongthoranee in redo: "That was such a gnarly match"

Reigning undisputed ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo was impressed by the performance of former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Hama during his rematch against Kongthoranee in the headliner of ONE Fight Night 31 last May 2.

Nong-O avenged his previous loss to Konghoranee in February with a masterful unanimous decision victory to return to the winner's circle and get one back against him, as they thrilled the fans in attendance at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

In an interview with veteran journalist Nick Atkin, Ruotolo expressed admiration for the striking masterclass that Nong-O displayed, which eventually earned him a $50,000 performance bonus, as the BJJ phenom said:

"[There were] not many tonight. Nong O just got one, first of the night. I think Nong O deserved it for sure. That was such a gnarly match."

Watch Tye Ruotolo's interview here:

Ruotolo was also successful in his world title defense against the challenge of rival Dante Leon in the card's co-main event with a unanimous decision nod from the judges and retained his 26-pound golden belt.

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Tye Ruotolo admits he had ring rust in his return against Dante Leon at ONE Fight Night 31

Despite the convincing win against the 29-year-old Canadian challenger, the Atos representative admitted that he needed to shake off the ring rust he had after being forced to be on the sidelines for almost 10 months due to a nasty knee injury.

Nonetheless, the 22-year-old phenom was satisfied with the performance that he put up, as he told Nick Atkin in his post-fight interview:

"I felt like I had a little bit of 'ring rust' I had to shake off. But I definitely feel like I got a dominant win, so I was happy with that at least."

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action at ONE Fight Night 31 via the free event replay.