Tye Ruotolo says welterweight gold ‘a stepping stool’ to BJJ greatness: “I want to be the best in the world”

Tye Ruotolo’s history-making ONE welterweight submission grappling world title win at ONE Fight Night 16 was a big step toward achieving his goal of becoming the greatest BJJ competitor on the planet.

Ruotolo claimed his first ONE world title last Friday, capturing the inaugural welterweight grappling championship with a decisive unanimous decision victory over Dagestani-wrestling standout Magomed Abdulkadirov.

The victory moved Ruotolo to 5-0 inside the Circle. More importantly, it made him a world champion and put him one step closer to being dubbed the greatest.

“My whole life I want to be the best in the world of all time,” Ruotolo told Mitch Chilson immediately following his victory. “This is a stepping stool. This is the belt, I got it now.”

With the victory, Tye Ruotolo joins his brother, Kade, who already sits as the ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion, at the top of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world.

The two brothers are undefeated under the ONE Championship banner, earning a combined nine-straight victories with four total submissions.

Having dominated the submission grappling division, the brothers are now eyeing a potential move to mixed martial arts in 2024.

Following his victory, Tye Ruotolo revealed that a move to MMA is definitely in the cards, but he would rather wait and see his brother make the leap before swapping the rashguards for the four-ounce gloves on the global stage of ONE.

Until then, who should be next for the two Atos superstars? Let us know in the comments section below.

If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade replay can be watched anytime on demand via Amazon Prime Video in North America.