Jozef Chen says it'll be all over for Tye Ruotolo if he secures top mount: "It should be me winning from there"
Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizard Jozef Chen knows he'll be in for an uphill battle when he makes his promotional bow against Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 23 in Bangkok, Thailand. Yet he sees a clear path to victory.
The South African athlete's world-class grappling has been on a steady path of improvement. Still, it will undeniably be tested like never before when he collides against the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion in an 186-pound catchweight submission grappling fixture inside the Lumpinee Stadium.
Chen, who owns a 19-4 resume alongside an 83 percent finish rate, broke down his path to victory over the Atos representative during a recent chat with ONE Championship, saying:
"If I can get to top position on top of Tye, it should be me winning from there. Just generally, you see him want to do his best work from top. So, being able to put him in bottom, I think this will be a good strategy for me if I'm able to do that."
Ruotolo, of course, always prefers to maintain his usual plot whenever he takes to the Circle – takedown, pass, submit.
However, should he find himself with his back on the canvas, the ONE world champion would make the most of his opportunity to lock in a variety of chokes from guard.
On Chen's end, the 19-year-old owns a wide array of techniques to attack from the top. And if he does execute what he vows to do, planting the California native on his back, a win will be there for the taking at ONE Fight Night 23.
Tye Ruotolo expects a 'technical match' vs. Jozef Chen
Tye Ruotolo will be out to protect his perfect 6-0 ONE Championship resume against Jozef Chen this Friday.
Despite his experience and obvious advantages, the 21-year-old believes it'll be far easier said than done as he'd be up against Chen's technical brilliance on the ground. He had this to say to Sportskeeda MMA earlier this week:
"A lot of my, you know, recent matches have been against guys who are really strong and physical, of course, with good technique too."
"But I'm excited to have a technical match, and he's really going to make me think, you know? So yeah, he's a very tough opponent for sure."
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 23 card live in U.S. primetime for free this Friday, July 5.