Tye Ruotolo still eager to settle the score with Nicholas Meregali: "I want that match"

ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo recently defended his belt against Izaak Michell at ONE Fight Night 21 last weekend. The 21-year-old world champion made quick work of his highly revered Aussie foe by submitting him mid-way into the match.

After swiftly dispatching the first challenger to his throne, Tye Ruotolo is already looking ahead and hunting for his next victim. One such adversary is multi-time IBJJF world champion and ADCC Absolutes silver medalist Nicholas Meregali.

Meregali, who outweighs Ruotolo by over 40 pounds, faced the young prodigy in the semifinals of the 2022 ADCC World Championship Absolutes division and narrowly beat him via judges' decision. The bout was a back-and-forth war that saw both grapplers canceling each other out and not scoring any points once the time expired.

On a possible bout with Meregali again, Tye Ruotolo said during his ONE Fight Night 21 post-event presser:

“When I fought Nicholas Meregali, I fought him with one knee and I still alpha-checked him, you know. I was still dominating and all towards the end of the match and I want that match. I want that match. Let’s go.”

Considering he has a bad knee and was outweighed by more than 40 pounds, a lot of spectators say that Tye Ruotolo is the true winner of that match.

Watch their 2022 ADCC match here:

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Nicholas Meregali narrowly defeated Tye Ruotolo at the 2022 ADCC World Championships

The first 10 minutes of Tye Ruotolo and Nicholas Meregali's match looked like a David versus Goliath battle on overdrive.

Meregali drew first blood by throwing Ruotolo hard to the mat with an Uchi Mata, but the young savant sprung back up right away. Ruotolo answered back by landing a throw of his own, leading to a tight D'Arce choke which Meregali narrowly escaped from.

Both throws and submission attempts didn't score any points as the first half of ADCC matches are under a submission-only ruleset.

Once the points system kicked in at the five-minute mark, both men upped the intensity with hard collar ties, swift takedown attempts, and dizzying scrambles. The time expired and the match was forced to go on a five-minute overtime.

Ruotolo seemed to have caught a second wind and attacked Meregali like a mad dog. The Brazilian heavyweight, however, also fought like no tomorrow. After the time expired, the judges were asked who they thought won the fight, which was Nicholas Meregali.