Welterweight submission grappling king Tye Ruotolo on what BJJ means to him: "What I've spent my whole life doing"
ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo knows jiu-jitsu will forever be ingrained in his personality and daily life.
The Atos standout, after all, has dedicated his entire life to the sport. He has been a practitioner of 'The Gentle Art' since he was three years old alongside his twin and fellow ONE world champion Kade Ruotolo.
To say that the 21-year-old prodigy lives, eats, and breathes grappling would be a massive understatement.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Tye Ruotolo professed his passion and love for the sport:
"Like when I go to compete, I have to. I don't have an option. You know, that's my job. I can't quit. I'm a jiu-jitsu fighter. That's what I've spent my whole life doing."
Moreover, the youngest IBJJF black belt world champion says it's his responsibility to further hone his craft and make sure he's at his best each time he competes on the world stage.
"The same way that I guess someone would make sure they have to show up to work every day, it's the same way."
After joining his brother Kade among the prestige group of ONE world title holders, the real test begins for Tye Ruotolo.
He'll be defending his 26 pounds of gold for the first time at ONE Fight Night 21 on April 5, against sensational challenger Izaak Michell. The full event will air live in US primetime, free of charge for North American Prime Video subscribers.
Tye Ruotolo on keeping up with BJJ's ever-evolving scene
A big reason for Tye Ruotolo's success is his willingness to embrace the sport's growing meta.
The 21-year-old BJJ prodigy loves exploring new techniques, which he discussed in a previous appearance on The Fighter and The Kid podcast:
"You got to always be evolving, making sure that nobody's on some new stuff that you haven't figured out yet. There's always some stuff you got to know that you haven't quite figured out and there are so many moving parts. So it's just making sure you're at the top of as much as you can be.”
See the full episode below: