"I am the best 185 guy" - BJJ upstart Izaak Michell certain he's the man to beat ahead of Tye Ruotolo clash
ONE Championship debutant Izaak Michell is ready to shock the world against Tye Ruotolo on the global stage of martial arts. In fact, the Australian grappling savant believes he edges the defending world champion in terms of skill set.
The Adelaide native vies for Ruotolo's ONE welterweight submission grappling gold in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 21, which emanates live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, in U.S. primetime this Friday, April 5.
Ahead of his monumental tie, the 25-year-old had this to say to ONE Championship:
"I believe that I am the best 185 guy. I haven't had the same level of success in the competitions that Tye has, you know, I've been doing jiu-jitsu for a less amount of time and I'm kind of just coming up now."
Izaak Michell won't underestimate Tye Ruotolo's offense at ONE Fight Night 21
While he's filled with the belief of being a better athlete and determined to overcome one of his toughest career tests, Izaak Michell knows he cannot blink an eye when his submission grappling tie against Ruotolo kicks off.
The defending king attacks with inch-perfect precision when he finds faults in his opponent's style, and though Mitchell knows this all too well, sharing the same Circle with Ruotolo could be a different affair altogether.
In the same interview with the promotion, Izaak Michell stacked praise on Ruotolo's ruthless offensive game.
He shared:
"Basically, he throws the kitchen sink at you, and if you're not prepared to deal with that, then a lot of people get caught, and then it's just too much. It's an overwhelming amount of offense coming at them at once."
ONE Fight Night 21 will be available live and for free to North American and Canadian fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription in U.S. primetime on April 5. For fans around the world, catch the entire card live via watch.onefc.com.