Grappling king Tye Ruotolo wants phenom Adrian Lee for his imminent MMA debut: “Sounds interesting”
Reigning and undisputed ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo of the United States is coming off another impressive world title defense last weekend, defeating Canadian rival Dante Leon via unanimous decision. But he's already shifted focus to making his highly anticipated professional mixed martial arts debut.
After Ruotolo defeated Leon at ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II on Prime Video, he immediately talked about making his MMA debut a priority for his next fight.
Addressing the media backstage at the official ONE Fight Night 31 post-fight interviews, Ruotolo said he was interested in facing Singaporean-American fellow rising star Adrian 'The Phenom' Lee. He said:
"The Lee fight sounds interesting. Adrian Lee for the debut would be awesome. I don’t really care, that’s one that ONE kind of sent my way. Whoever they want to throw at my way."
A Tye Ruotolo - Adrian Lee showdown would be massive, and a fight fans would want to see.
ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II was broadcast live from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, May 3. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action via replay on-demand with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Tye Ruotolo doesn't plan on leaving grappling behind even in pursuit of MMA glory
Tye Ruotolo says he is looking forward to dominating both the submission grappling and MMA spaces when he eventually makes his transition to the all-encompassing sport.
Ruotolo told ONE Championship:
"That's the plan. I never want to leave jiu-jitsu. I love jiu-jitsu so much. My heart will always forever be in jiu-jitsu, and I always want to do the community right by at least competing once or twice a year at the very minimum."
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Tye Ruotolo's next fight.