"I could have performed a lot better" - Tye Ruotolo says he did not have the best of days vs Jozef Chen
Tye Ruotolo wasn't overly satisfied with his latest winning performance. At ONE Fight Night 23, Ruotolo competed in his seventh promotional submission grappling bout.
The ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion's latest challenge was a non-title catchweight matchup against ONE debutant Jozef Chen, a 19-year-old who trains with the well-known B-Team.
Chen endured the 10-minute match without being submitted by Ruotolo. Nonetheless, the American superstar denied the promotional newcomer of a life-changing win by securing a unanimous decision, extending his ONE record to 7-0.
During the ONE Fight Night 23 post-event press conference, Ruotolo had this to say about being disappointed in his performance against Chen:
"For sure, I could have performed a lot better. It's not a performance that I'm very proud of. I didn't have the best camp and I didn't feel the best way going through the fight, unless it's the fact that I won even on my worst day. It makes me happy."
ONE Fight Night 23 featured several intriguing matchups, including Tye Ruotolo's unanimous decision win against Jozef Chen and Alibeg Rasulov vs Ok Rae Yoon.
North American and Canadian viewers who missed the July 5 event can watch the replay with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Watch Ruotolo's entire post-event press conference below:
What's next for Tye Ruotolo under the ONE Championship banner?
At 21 years old, Tye Ruotolo has separated himself as one of the primary superstars in ONE Championship's expansion into submission grappling.
Moving forward, there will be plenty of world-class athletes outside of the promotion who will want to test themselves against the welterweight king.
Therefore, Ruotolo's next promotional appearance could be against a ONE debutant looking to make a name for themselves. The American superstar could also decide to officially transition to mixed martial arts to see if he can become a two-sport world champion.
Ruotolo's twin brother, Kade Ruotolo, previously made his professional MMA debut on April 5.
The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion defeated Blake Cooper by first-round submission to make a massive statement. It'll be intriguing to see if and when his sibling decides to pursue a similar path.
Watch Kade Ruotolo submit Blake Cooper below: