Tye Ruotolo admits he 'got lucky' in armbar win over Kade at 2021 IBJJF worlds: "I knew Kade was on fire"
At ONE Fight Night 21, Tye Ruotolo will share the card with his twin brother Kade. Their standing on the card is a testament to the success the brothers have achieved in ONE Championship.
The two siblings have shown incredible support for one another in their careers, but that doesn't mean that things can't get competitive between them.
Back in 2021, it was Tye Ruotolo that got the last laugh as the two brothers met in the finals of the IBJJF World Championships in the brown belt Lightweight division.
Tye spoke about this encounter between them in a recent interview on The Shintaro Higashi Show, where he admitted that on that occasion, he was the more fortunate one and not necessarily the better grappler. He said:
"When we met in the finals I was already thinking like okay I'm gonna have to pull something out of the hat for sure because I wasn't feeling good, you know. I knew Kade was on fire and then yeah, that match went kind of how I thought it was going to go, like back-and-forth."
Tye continued, saying that it was clear which of them was getting the better of the contest until he was able to capitalize on a split second decision:
"But Kade started to take it a little bit more, you could tell he's a little fresher and he's just on top of it more, and then I just created an opportunity and I got lucky on an armbar a little bit."
Watch the full interview below:
This competitive streak has made Kade and Tye Ruotolo into world class grapplers
For Kade and Tye Ruotolo, there really is no greater benefit than having a fellow elite grappler as your sibling.
The two brothers have grown up training with each other every single day so there's no confusion as to why they've both reached this same elite level.
Both of them hold submission grappling gold in ONE Championship, and while Kade won't be defending his title at ONE Fight Night 21, they will both be competing on the card.
Tye's welterweight title will be up for grabs on April 5 as he takes on Izaak Michell in the co-main event. Meanwhile, Kade competes in a catchweight match-up with Francisco Lo.
ONE Fight Night 21 will air live and free in U.S. primetime for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.