Tye Ruotolo will return to mixed martial arts competition at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on November 15 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
He will compete against Shozo “Great Teacher” Isojima in a lightweight bout. Both mixed martial artists remain undefeated in their professional careers.
Isojima recently competed at ONE FN 36, defeating Nicolas Vigna by second-round stoppage. He received a US$50,000 bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Isojima holds a 6-0 professional record since 2023. He trains with N★TRUST in Kuwana, Mie, and maintains a regular job outside of competition.
Vigna previously lost to Kade Ruotolo—Tye’s twin brother—by arm triangle at ONE 171 in February 2025.
Ruotolo won the ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Title against Magomed Abdulkadirov at ONE FN 16 in November 2023 and defended it against Izaak Michell and Dante Leon.
He made his mixed martial arts debut at ONE FN 35 in September, defeating Adrian Lee by submission in the second round. That win earned him a US$50,000 bonus.
At ONE 173, Ruotolo aims to improve to 2-0. The division is currently led by Christian Lee, who defends his title against Alibeg Rasulov on the same card.
Isojima will look to move to 7-0 with a win in Tokyo. He will compete in front of a home crowd against an opponent with a strong grappling background.
On paper, Isojima has more mixed martial arts experience, while Ruotolo brings elite jiu-jitsu credentials. Both are coming off submission finishes and carry undefeated records into ONE 173.
Following his victory, the BJJ champion opened up about his experience transitioning to mixed martial arts and what lies ahead.
When asked about the finish, Ruotolo expressed concern for his opponent:
” I see all the damage on my opponent’s face and then see him unconscious more or less. It was… yeah, it’s kind of tough, you know… You never want to see someone like that, you know.”
He added,
“I pray he has a fast recovery, and, and, and I’m sure he’ll be back stronger in a jiffy for sure.”
Regarding his striking performance, Ruotolo felt confident:
“I felt sharp, you know, felt comfortable. Missed, missed a couple of times, got hit a couple times and can’t dodge them all, right? That’s part of the game, you know. But, uh, but yeah, I felt really comfortable on my feet, you know. I had a lot of fun while I was in there, honestly.”
He revealed his approach didn’t go exactly as planned:
“I have this intention to go in kind of like calm, finish quick, you know, and I went in there and I’m pretty sure, like, one of the first things I did was put both my arms up and, like, flick a little weird kick… I kept saying, ‘I’m just curious. I’m curious to see what I’m going to do.'”
When questioned about potentially facing Christian Lee for the lightweight title, Ruotolo showed no hesitation:
“I’m personally, I’m not scared of anybody. I know that, you know, I’m, know, I’m capable of beating anybody in the world… If one thinks that, you know, Christian and my team thinks Christian’s the next match, then 100%, I’m ready to take that.”
Regarding balancing MMA and BJJ, he stated after his MMA debut:
“I want to do both. Yeah. I want to keep defending my belt and then I want another one. So, yeah, I got to stay active.”
Ruotolo acknowledged the physical toll of MMA compared to grappling:
“I feel small, tiny little headache, little dead leg. Aside from that, feel good… I felt like I was trying to tire him out by taking those, those up kicks with my head.”
The young MMA star credited his team throughout the interview:
“I got the best team in the world. I’m so grateful”
