The Time Is Now: Tye Ruotolo Reveals Why He Is Finally Ready For His MMA Debut At ONE Fight Night 35

After years of anticipation, ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo will step into the mixed martial arts realm for the first time at ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Prime Video, which goes down live in U.S. primetime on Friday, September 5.

The 22-year-old phenom has long been one of the most exciting names in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having proved that in the world’s largest martial arts organization several times over the past three years.

Ruotolo has strung together eight consecutive submission grappling victories in ONE Championship, while also building his reputation as a generational talent.

But as he prepares to meet undefeated teenage superstar Adrian “The Phenom” Lee in a lightweight MMA clash at Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Stadium, Ruotolo believes the timing of this transition couldn’t be better.

For much of his career, the Californian’s path was influenced by family. With his twin brother Kade blazing a trail at lightweight, Tye chose to move up and test himself against bigger opposition rather than crowd the same lane.

He explained:

“I’ve always kind of gone up [in weight], and just because I got a twin brother, you know? Especially the past few years, I’ve just been fighting up the bigger divisions, and he’s done the smaller ones. He’s a couple of pounds smaller than me, so it was kind of like the deciding factor. I guess since I was tackling more of the bigger guys, I just started to like it a little bit.”

Initially, Tye stepped aside to let Kade have the spotlight at lightweight. His twin, who also holds the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title, has racked up three first-round submission wins in MMA since making his transition to the all-encompassing sport last year.

What began as a practical choice to avoid overlapping with his brother gradually evolved into a personal quest, where each matchup against heavier adversaries became another chance to prove that his skills transcended weight.

The American added:

“I started to like it a lot. I was getting good matches and received a shot at [the belt], and beating those big guys, it just satisfies my soul a lot. So, yeah, I love, love, love moving up whenever I can.”

Ruotolo’s resume now includes statement wins against some of the toughest names in the sport – including former two-division ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder and multiple-time ADCC World Champion Felipe Pena – and each test reinforced that size wasn’t an obstacle.

With those experiences under his belt, the Californian feels ready to bring his submission prowess into MMA. And for that, he’s committed to competing at lightweight, a division that better suits his natural frame.

He said:

“Once I started fighting those guys, I realized … all these guys, I can beat them. And so that’s what led me to be motivated to scrap with the bigger guys.

“Even for ONE and holding the belt at 185 [pounds], I’m still a couple of pounds under weight, and I got to really eat to kind of get up there. One hundred and seventy is closer to my true weight than 185 is, so it’s just easier for me.”

Ruotolo Believes Lee’s BJJ Won’t Hold Up

Tye Ruotolo has quite the challenge in his first professional MMA bout at ONE Fight Night 35 on September 5, as he is scheduled to face an undefeated talent who is motivated to get the finish as fast as possible.

Adrian Lee, the youngest member of the famed Lee fighting family, has already made waves in the world’s largest martial arts organization with three straight submission victories. What’s more, he was awarded a US$50,000 performance bonus for every one of those stoppage wins.

The 19-year-old Hawaiian prodigy also boldly claimed that his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills can hang with – or even surpass – Ruotolo’s, both in MMA and in pure grappling.

In fact, Lee even said he could submit the Californian.

That confidence drew a sharp response from Ruotolo:

“It’s very interesting, to say the least. It’s interesting, especially in MMA, because I know he hasn’t seen me fight before. So, like, it’s interesting that he has so much to say in that regard. But, yeah, he’s definitely just going to be very surprised.”

While commending Lee’s accomplishments in regional circuits like NAGA tournaments in Hawaii, Tye believes he and his twin brother, ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo, were already cutting their teeth on the world stage.

The California-based star knows those early years of international competition gave him a foundation few can match. It’s why he views Lee’s claim with caution, but also with confidence in the gap between them.

“I know he’s won a lot of the NAGAs in Hawaii, right? He’s definitely won some NAGA championships and back in the day, my brother and I went over there, did NAGA, and scrapped in it, and it’s tough.

“NAGA in Hawaii is like the championships over there because they don’t have the [World] Championships, right? So, that’s like the biggest comp over there. But at the end of the day, it’s a very, very different level than what my brother and I are.”

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