“Stay calm in the chaos” - Izaak Michell says he and Tye Ruotolo are similar in more ways than one when it comes to grappling
Aussie standout Izaak Michell believes his cautiously aggressive style of grappling will make for an interesting match when he meets reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo.
Michell will make his ONE Championship debut on Friday night, April 5 as he heads to the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok for a loaded ONE Fight Night 21 card on Amazon Prime Video.
Izaak Michell, who currently sits as the No. 2 ranked 185-pound no-gi grappler in the world according to FloGrappling, has the chance to do what no man has done before on martial arts' biggest global stage — hand Tye Ruotolo a loss. Of course, that'll be easier said than done against the Atos Jiu-Jitsu product.
Speaking with CountFilms ahead of his highly anticipated debut, Michell offered his thoughts on how his style is both similar to Ruotolo, yet different.
"My fighting style is... I think I like to stay calm in the chaos and try to pick and time my shots, when and where it's best to do it," Michell said. "I think I'm pretty aggressive. I'm moving forward and also hunting submissions. So it's actually quite similar to Tye, in a way."
"Maybe I'm a little bit more conservative with some things where he likes to just throw the kitchen sink at you, so it'll be interesting to see what happens. We both like to play on top. We both like the pass, wrestle, and back takes. So we have similar styles, but also slightly different so it'll be interesting."
Can Izaak Michell shock the world and claim ONE gold against BJJ sensation Tye Ruotolo?
Since making his ONE debut in May 2022, Tye Ruotolo has become one of the world's most accomplished BJJ specialists. Aside from becoming an IBJJF world champion, Ruotolo etched his name into the history books by becoming ONE's first-ever welterweight submission grappling king.
Along the way, he has knocked off five straight opponents, including 'The Lion Killer' Garry Tonon, former ONE world champions Marat Gafurov and Reinier de Ridder, as well as lightweight standout Dagi Arslanaliev.
Will Tye Ruotolo add another notable name to his already impressive hit list, or will Izaak Michell shock the world and dethrone the 21-year-old superstar?
ONE Championship fans in North America can catch ONE Fight Night 21 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, April 5.