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Australian submission grappling star Izaak Michell is bound for his first shot at a ONE world title as he locks horns with Tye Ruotolo for the ONE welterweight submission grappling world title at ONE Fight Night 21 on April 5.
The bout was originally scheduled for the recently concluded ONE 166: Qatar less than two weeks ago. It was, however, pushed to the next month and will transpire inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ahead of Izaak Michell's massive world title fight, ONE Championship posted a video of him working on his stand-up game on Instagram alongside a caption which read:
"Izaak Michell is SLICK 😈 Can the Australian grappler dethrone Tye Ruotolo and claim the ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Championship on April 5 at ONE Fight Night 21 on @primevideo? 🏆 @izaakmichellbjj"
That slick arm-drag-to-back-take move looked like it was taken straight out of Tye Ruotolo's insanely explosive playbook. If Izaak Michell brings this kind of intensity to his match with the equally intense Ruotolo, we're going to be treated to one of the most exciting submission grappling bouts in ONE Championship so far.
Izaak Michell may have a secret weapon to beat Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 21
Michell's most dangerous weapon doesn't involve any of his physical skills or attributes - it comes down to his mentors. In his grappling career so far, Michell has trained under the tutelage of three great mentors - Leo Arruda, Craig Jones and the legendary John Danaher.
Michell started his jiu-jitsu journey with Leo Arruda at Arruda BJJ in 2016, where he rose from white to purple belt in just three years. In 2019, the Aussie grappler moved to NYC to train under the guidance of the great John Danaher, trainer of some of the greatest grapplers of all time including Eddie Cummings, ONE's Garry Tonon, and the No-Gi GOAT, Gordon Ryan.
One of Danaher's senior students, Michell's fellow Aussie Craig Jones, encouraged the young athlete to move to his newly established B-Team in 2021. Jones is largely considered today as the very best submission grappler in the world, perhaps only behind Gordon Ryan.
The sheer greatness of his masters tells us what Michell is capable of as a competitor.
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 21 card live and for free in U.S. primetime on Friday, April 5.
