“See you at ADCC” - Izaak Michell ready to run it back with Tye Ruotolo after jaw-dropping battle at ONE Fight Night 21
After coming up short against reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo, Aussie standout Izaak Michell is already chomping at the bit to run it back.
On Friday, April 5, Michell made his promotional debut determined to hand Ruotolo the first loss of his ONE Championship career and claim 26 pounds of ONE gold.
Instead, Ruotolo forced Michell to tap out before the five-minute mark, locking in an arm-in rear-naked choke previously dubbed the "Ruotolo-tine" by his twin brother and fellow ONE world champion Kade Ruotolo.
Reacting to the loss on social media, Michell congratulated Ruotolo before suggesting that the two would inevitably run it back at the ADCC World Championships later this year:
"I said there’d be a submission. Fair play to Tye, he’s a great opponent. See you at ADCC," Michell wrote on Instagram.
Ruotolo responded to Michell's post, writing:
"You're the man, good scrapping with you."
Tye Ruotolo will turn his attention toward his brother's MMA debut at ONE 167
When it comes to competing, Tye Ruotolo is not sure what will be next. For now, he plans to focus on his brother's highly anticipated mixed martial arts debut.
On Friday, June 7, Kade Ruotolo — the current ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion — will strap on the four-ounce gloves for an MMA bout with American prospect Blake Cooper at ONE 167 in Bangkok.
Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA following his win over Izaak Michell, Tye Ruotolo revealed that for the next couple of months, his focus will be on training and coaching his brother:
"I'm actually just going to focus on Kade's [MMA debut] this time around," he said. "This is something that's new to us so I'm going to direct all my energy towards Kade."
ONE Championship fans in North America can watch ONE 167 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, June 7.