Tye Ruotolo has allegedly confirmed he’s making his highly anticipated mixed martial arts debut later this year, with a potential showdown against Adrian Lee already in discussion.
The 22-year-old American, who just successfully defended his ONE welterweight submission grappling title against Dante Leon at ONE FN31 in Bangkok, revealed his plans to transition to MMA by year’s end.
“Yes, 100 per cent I will be here scrapping [in MMA] by the end of the year, guaranteed,” Ruotolo told the Bangkok Post in a recent interview.
Even more intriguing, Ruotolo disclosed that a matchup with Adrian Lee has already been floated. “I know someone was sending the Adrian Lee match out – I don’t even know if I’m allowed to talk about that or not. But it sounds sick, I’m down for it,” he said.
Adrian Lee is the 4th of Lee siblings. His sister Angela retired following the tragic passing of Victoria. Meanwhile Christian and Adrian are still pursuing MMA.
Ruotolo confirmed he would drop down to lightweight (170 pounds) for his MMA career, explaining: “Yeah, lightweight for MMA, 170 [pounds], that’s where I’ll be fighting for MMA. Welterweight, 185, it’s a little bit heavy for me. I can make 170 for sure. The only reason that I don’t is because Kade’s there. For MMA it will be a lot easier to fight smaller guys.”
Ruotolo is using the ONE FC weight classes in this paragraph – since ONE FC has a different weight cutting system to other promotions.
This potential matchup creates an interesting twist as Ruotolo’s twin brother Kade, who holds ONE’s lightweight submission grappling title, was previously linked to a bout with the 19-year-old Lee. However, a knee injury has temporarily derailed Kade’s MMA aspirations.
“Kade right now is a little bit in the boat I was just in, a little bit injured,” Tye explained. “He’s probably not stoked I’ve taken this match, but also I’m sure he’s excited to see me fight. He’s been wanting to watch me scrap for a while.”
Despite being a world-class grappler, Ruotolo acknowledges his MMA skills are still developing. “That will be a sick debut match. I’ve been working with Kade and our MMA is coming along. It’s definitely not the greatest, but we’re getting there and I’m excited to showcase it for sure.”
The potential for both twins competing in the same weight class raises fascinating questions about future title contention. “It’s definitely gonna be interesting, yeah,” Ruotolo said. “I didn’t even think about that. Yeah, maybe go back and forth. Eventually I’ll probably have to move up, but that’s part of the game. When you have a twin, you gotta either go up or down.”
While the brothers train together daily, Tye made it clear there are limits to their competitive rivalry. “I don’t think I can run an elbow through Kade’s face. I don’t know – I hope it’s vice versa,” he said laughingly. “Jiu jitsu, we could for sure line it up one day. We don’t have a problem doing that but an MMA match, that’s a lot. I can’t picture myself trying to knock out my bro.”
Ruotolo’s successful title defense against Leon on Friday demonstrated why he’s considered one of the most exciting grapplers in ONE Championship. Despite coming off a nine-month layoff due to a knee injury, the American dominated throughout the 10-minute bout, though Leon’s defensive skills prevented Ruotolo from securing his trademark quick submission.
“I was stoked to have a good performance. It could have been a lot better. I could have got the sub(mission). That’s what I came here to do but I’m just grateful to be here on the mats again,” Ruotolo said after his unanimous decision victory.
