Tye Ruotolo ready to take on the bigger, badder tests in ONE Championship: “I can beat them"

Reigning and undisputed ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo of the United States is just about ready to make his professional MMA debut this weekend, but already, he’s looking at facing the upper echelon of the lightweight division.

The 22-year-old believes that he’s ready to take on MMA’s biggest tests despite having no professional experience at the moment.

The California native's confidence stems from his massive success in the world of jiu-jitsu, which he believes will translate effectively into MMA competition.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Ruotolo talked about his growing confidence and explained his motivation to face elite competition.

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

He told the world’s largest martial arts organization:

"Once I started fighting those guys, I realized … all these guys, I can beat them. And so that's what led me to be motivated to scrap with the bigger guys."

Ruotolo will make his pro MMA debut against Singaporean-American star ‘The Phenom’ Adrian Lee in a three-round lightweight contest.

The two meet in the ring at ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Prime Video, which is set to broadcast live in U.S. primetime on Friday, Sept. 5, from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and absolutely free with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Tye Ruotolo gunning for Christian Lee title shot: “I'm not scared of anyone”

Tye Ruotolo is ready to step into the ring with ‘The Phenom’ Adrian Lee, but what he’s really looking for is a shot at the king himself, reigning ONE lightweight MMA world champion ‘The Warrior’ Christian Lee.

He told ONE:

"I think we're ready to go. It would probably be something to talk with the team about, you know? But yeah, I'm ready to go. I know in my heart that I'm not scared of anyone, and I'm ready to fight. I'm ready to scrap. I know that I'm capable of putting away anybody in the world quickly, so yeah, I think we would be ready for [Christian Lee]."

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Tye Ruotolo’s next fight.

About the author

Dan is an MMA writer with 10+ years of overall experience. Before his ongoing tenure at Sportskeeda, Dan got the opportunity to be at the forefront of the sport by contributing to ONE Championship and Fight Game Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.

Dan’s connection to MMA started during the early days of the UFC and ONE Championship. He previously practiced boxing and ranks Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Fedor Emelianenko as the top five MMA fighters of all time.

He has covered several events onsite and on the ground for ONE Championship and hopes to continue doing so. He ensures that he churns out accurate articles by citing only legitimate sources and getting firsthand accounts through exclusive interviews whenever required.

Dan feels MMA fighter pay seems like an issue because it often gets compared to what fighters earn in boxing but that MMA will eventually catch up in the future.

His other interests include soccer and video games.

Know More

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

Edited by Aziel Karthak