“I’m very proud to be able to compete at this level” - Jozef Chen raring for ONE Championship debut against Tye Ruotolo
South African BJJ phenom Jozef Chen is excited to be embarking on a new journey in his martial arts career under ONE Championship, where he expects to take on new challenges in his pursuit to grow as a fighter. It all begins this week against welterweight submission grappling king Tye Ruotolo.
The 19-year-old B-Team representative will make his promotional debut on July 5 at ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs Rasulov on Prime Video in Thailand. He will go up against streaking Ruotolo in a catchweight (186 lbs) grappling match.
In an interview with ONE Championship ahead of his maiden outing in the promotion, Jozef Chen spoke about the significance of now showcasing his jiu-jitsu talents in the 'Home of Martial Arts' and what keeps him going, saying:
"I'm very proud to be able to compete at this level at this point. I think it's very cool, because, generally, for me, jiu-jitsu, I wanna have a very good jiu-jitsu. The competition is more secondary to my jiu-jitsu. Being able to compete and display my jiu-jitsu, that's what really makes me happy."
Prior to joining ONE Championship, Jozef Chen competed primarily in the ADCC, boasting of an 18-4 record and establishing his standing as among the noted up-and-comers in the game. He is currently riding a four-game winning run.
His opponent, Ruotolo, 21, meanwhile, is among the elite grapplers in ONE, undefeated in six matches while claiming the inaugural welterweight submission grappling gold in November 2023. He was last in action back in April, successfully defending his world title against Australian challenger Izaak Michell by submission.
ONE Fight Night 23 will take place at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok and air live and for free to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Jozef Chen basking in first fight week experience
ONE Championship newcomer Jozef Chen said he has been enjoying and settling well under the promotion. And that includes going through all the activities of fight week, which he breezed through and basked in.
He shared this in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, ahead of his promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs Rasulov on Prime Video on July 5 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The 19-year-old Chen said:
"Everything's been smooth-sailing, like it's been very convenient, very easy, very nice, so yeah nothing to complain about."
Watch the interview below:
At ONE Fight Night 23, Jozef Chen is out to make a big splash by taking down ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo in their catchweight (186 lbs) grappling match.