Tye Ruotolo tips his hat to "super technical and super tough" Jozef Chen: "He did an amazing job"
Despite picking up his seventh victory on the global stage of ONE Championship, Tye Ruotolo refuses to take anything away from his opposite number, Jozef Chen.
The ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion returned to action in a 186-pound catchweight bout against the South African debutant at ONE Fight Night 23, which went down inside the Lumpinee Stadium last Friday, July 5.
Speaking on Chen's impressive showing, Ruotolo told the South China Morning Post:
"I did my best to make it exciting, and yeah, hats off to Jozef Chen, you know. He did an amazing job. He's super technical and super tough. So yeah, hats off to that kid. He's tough for sure."
Watch the full interview here:
While many expected the Atos representative to ease his way to another commanding win, the 21-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt was instead forced to slug it out on the canvas against Chen, who constantly appeared to have a trick up his sleeve to halt what came his way.
Unfortunately, the B-Team star's valiant effort still came up short against Ruotolo's aggression and submission-hunting approach as the ONE world champion remained perfect with a well-earned unanimous decision triumph.
Tye Ruotolo's win inside the Mecca of Muay Thai last week was his second of the year. Overall, he spots a pristine 7-0 record in submission grappling under the ONE spotlight.
North American fans who missed any of the action can watch the entire ONE Fight Night 23 card via replay on Amazon Prime Video.
Tye Ruotolo eyes MMA debut at ONE 169: Atlanta
Having excelled against another tough assignment in submission grappling, Tye Ruotolo believes it's time for him to hit the pause button in the discipline and venture into the world of MMA.
Per the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion, ONE 169: Atlanta on November 8 – the promotion's third on-ground show in North America – sounds like a perfect date to turn his dream into a reality.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA, the California native offered:
"I've seen there's already a couple of banger fights announced. It will be a pleasure to get on that one.
"It's pretty far out too, maybe I can make my MMA debut there, we'll see. That'd be awesome."