Tye Ruotolo stoked his striking came together for pro MMA debut: “I was just lasering across”

Reigning and undisputed ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo of the United States admits he was a little worried about how he would do in the striking department in his highly anticipated MMA debut last weekend.

But everything fell into place for the 22-year-old and he was firing on all cylinders by fight’s end.

Ruotolo defeated previously unbeaten Adrian ‘The Phenom’ Lee via second-round rear-naked choke in an exciting battle at ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Prime Video, marking a successful first foray into mixed martial arts competition.

On display were his striking skills, which were by all accounts, actually pretty solid.

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Addressing the media in the post-fight interviews backstage, Ruotolo gave props to his team for developing his stand-up game.

The American said:

“So he just kept telling me everything I needed to hear, everything I didn’t want to hear. And, you know, I remember at the start of this camp, working with coach Tyler Wombles, I was telling him, ‘Man, my process doesn’t feel sharp, it doesn’t feel natural to me.’ And in the fight today, I just felt like I was just lasering across the whole bunch.”

ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Prime Video went down live from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday, Sept. 6. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch a replay of all the action via an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Tye Ruotolo thoroughly enjoyed his MMA debut: “It was a good fight, good day”

By all accounts, Tye Ruotolo looked absolutely phenomenal as an MMA fighter, and the result speaks for itself.

Ruotolo delivered an electric performance in his win over Adrian Lee at ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Prime Video, and he just wants to thank his team for all the hard work they put in together.

The 22-year-old said:

“So, yeah, I know that when you put in the work, good things come, you know? So, yeah, I was super grateful for my coaches and, yeah, it was a good fight, good day.”

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.

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Edited by Aziel Karthak