Welterweight submission grappling king Tye Ruotolo on why he personally called out Izaak Michell: "He's respected"
Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist and ONE superstar Tye Ruotolo explained why he wanted to compete against Izaak Michell.
Ruotolo made his ONE Championship debut in May 2022, defeating Garry Tonon by D'arce choke. Since then, the 21-year-old has secured four more promotional wins, including a unanimous decision last time out against Magomed Abdulkadirov to become the inaugural ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion.
On April 5, the 21-year-old American superstar looks to defend his throne for the first time in the ONE Fight Night 21 co-main event. To do so, Ruotolo must get through promotional newcomer Izaak Michell, who plans to elevate his career with another win against an IBJJF world champion.
During an interview with ONE, Tye Ruotolo had this to say about why he wanted to face Michell under the ONE banner:
"I've been asking for Izaak for a little bit now. I've seen the success he's been having in the jiu-jitsu world. He's been beating a lot of good guys. He won the Who's Next show. He's respected."
ONE Fight Night 21 goes down inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Friday's event featuring two world-title matchups, including Regian Eersel defending his lightweight kickboxing throne against Alexis Nicolas, can be seen live and for free by North Americans with a Prime Video subscription.
Kade Ruotolo joins Tye Ruotolo by competing at ONE Fight Night 21
Tye Ruotolo will have added support at ONE Fight Night 21, as his 21-year-old twin brother, ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo, is also competing.
On Jan. 28, Kade Ruotolo defended his lightweight throne for the third time in an immediate rematch against Tommy Langaker. Later this week, Ruotolo will temporarily leave his division to compete in a catchweight matchup against promotional newcomer Francisco Lo.
Lo isn't the average debutant, as he's an IBJJF Pan American No-Gi world champion. The 23-year-old now looks to further make a name for himself in the combat sports world by taking out Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 21.