Tye Ruotolo is taking no shortcuts in his transition to mixed martial arts. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu phenom, who holds the ONE Championship welterweight submission grappling belt, has chosen a challenging path for his MMA debut on September 5th against Adrian Lee in Thailand.
“I never really wanted 25 matches in my MMA career, you know. I wanted to be pretty efficient and quick. I want to get to the top,” Ruotolo explained during a recent interview. Rather than selecting an easier opponent for his first professional MMA bout, the 21-year-old opted to face Lee, an undefeated prospect with a 3-0 record who comes from the legendary Lee MMA family.
“Adrian, he’s a tough kid for sure,” Ruotolo acknowledged. “He comes from the Lee family, you know, right? I didn’t realize that he was very similar to how I am in jiu-jitsu, you know, 3 years since he was a little kid, you know, training his whole life.” Despite recognizing the challenge ahead, Ruotolo remains confident in his approach: “I want to beat the best as quick as possible, you know.”
The submission specialist has no intention of leaving his debut to chance. “I don’t want to leave it up to the judges, you know? So, yeah, I’m going to plan to finish no matter what. Sooner the better,” he stated regarding his strategy.
Ruotolo’s confidence stems from his elite grappling pedigree and controversial training encounters with other top competitors. Most notably, he revealed having trained with Gordon Ryan, widely considered one of the best grapplers in the world. “I’ve we’ve had a couple rounds together. Yeah. He caught me in a heel hook one time, but I knew it was pure. It wasn’t technical,” Ruotolo said, before dropping a bombshell: “I darred him. Yeah. That same day. Yeah. He got me in a heel hook and I darred him… I made him tap that day.”
This revelation about submitting Ryan in 2022 training sessions adds intrigue to Ruotolo‘s bold claims about his grappling superiority. “I personally believe that my jiu-jitsu is definitely better than Gordon’s for sure,” he stated confidently.
Currently balancing his MMA transition with his ONE Championship grappling career alongside his brother Kade, Ruotolo represents a new generation of grapplers making the jump to mixed martial arts. His approach of seeking immediate elite competition rather than building slowly through easier opponents reflects his confidence and ambition to quickly establish himself as a force in MMA’s lightweight division.
