“It’s very new to them” - Adrian Lee not impressed by grappling superstars Kade and Tye Ruotolo’s striking arsenal

Tye and Kade Ruotolo might be tearing through opponents on the mats, but Adrian Lee isn’t sold on how they look when they’re standing. The undefeated 19-year-old MMA phenom was recently named by Tye as a possible opponent for his long-awaited MMA debut.

While Lee has plenty of respect for the brothers’ elite-level grappling, he didn’t hold back when assessing their striking. Speaking with ONE Championship in an exclusive interview, he said:

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“I think with what I’ve seen from Kade Ruotolo, their striking right now is what you would call very green – it’s very new to them."

He’s not questioning their toughness or ability to win, he’s just pointing out that so far, the Ruotolos haven’t had to show much comfort on the feet. As far as Lee is concerned, that part of their game hasn’t caught up with their world-class grappling just yet.

And against Adrian Lee, who has been training all aspects of MMA for several years, it may not be a very good match for them.

"That'd be a great fight" - Adrian Lee welcomes potential lightweight MMA duel against Tye Ruotolo

Adrian Lee isn’t turning down the idea of a showdown with Tye. He thinks it’d make for an exciting matchup.

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"I think that'd be a great fight," he said in the aforementioned interview.

He continued:

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"I think he's a great athlete. Him and his brother, Kade, they're phenomenal wrestlers and grapplers, and that really helps tie into their MMA game because of how dynamic they are. Their type of grappling style is more suited for MMA."

It’s a fight that could happen sooner than later, and Lee’s ready if it does. The matchup would pit two of the most promising young talents in ONE against each other: one with a complete MMA upbringing, the other with a submission-first style, making the transition.

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