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Tye Ruotolo believes his submission grappling career will now forever be intertwined with one of his fiercest rivals, Dante Leon.
These pair of Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizards have now faced off three times, with the trilogy taking place in the penultimate match of ONE Fight Night 31 last May 2.
The two IBJJF and ADCC veterans once again displayed the highest levels of 'The Gentle Art' in a climactic 10-minute chess match. Once the dust settled, however, Ruotolo once again asserted his mastery using crushing pressure and dominating top control to successfully retain his ONE welterweight submission grappling crown.
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Speaking during his ONE Fight Night 31 post-event interview, Tye Ruotolo made it clear there's no animosity between him and his Canadian rival. Moreover, the 22-year-old said they developed a mutual respect for one another after bringing out the best in each other.
"After three matches like that, you can’t help but have a lot of respect for the guy, win, lose, or draw," he said. "And he’s a cool guy. Before the match, he’s obviously your biggest enemy, and after he’s normal, he’s cool."
The full replay of ONE Fight Night 31 is available on demand for those with a Prime Video subscription in the United States and Canada
Tye Ruotolo admits it was hard to submit Dante Leon
Tye Ruotolo controlled the tempo of his grappling war with Dante Leon from start to finish and tried to find openings for a submission as much as he could.
However, his defensively sound challenger made the proper adjustments to get himself out of danger each time. In the same interview, the Atos athlete praised Leon for his durability and well-rounded skills.
"The last time I got to fight him, I just had a little bit more time to work with. I was able to get the catch in the later minutes. He’s a very safe fighter, so it's hard to expose him sooner in the match than later. I had maybe one little opportunity that I tried to hop on with an ‘Estima lock’ and a couple of knee bars, but just nothing that was tight enough."
