ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo is set to defend his title against Dante Leon on May 3 at ONE Fight Night 31 in Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium, completing their trilogy of matches.
The American 22-year-old believes his innovative grappling style will overwhelm Leon, despite acknowledging the Canadian's well-rounded abilities that make him a tricky opponent to contend with on the mat.
"[Leon is] explosive when he wants to be. He's flexible. As far as, like, an athlete goes, you build your own athlete, he's got a lot of attributes that you'd want for sure," Ruotolo said to ONE.
"With that being said, I would say he's not necessarily the most creative individual on the mat."
The pair's history dates back to 2020 when Leon secured a decision victory in their first encounter, something no one has been able to do to Ruotolo on the global stage. Ruotolo evened the score in 2021 with a last-second arm-triangle submission.
Ruotolo credits his lifetime of training alongside his twin brother Kade for developing a fighting style that makes him unpredictable.
"I just think I know more jiu-jitsu than him in the sense where I've had more rolls than he's had. I've felt more than he's felt," Ruotolo said.
"People say it all the time when they fight my brother and I. It's like they go to push us, and we're not there."
Ruotolo's aggressive offense with innovative techniques has been on full display since he arrived in ONE.
The champion plans to utilize that full arsenal of techniques to end the fight quickly at ONE Fight Night 31.
"All I know is I'm just gonna come in hot like I usually do. And, as long as I'm a good version of myself, I think the match is gonna be over pretty quick," Ruotolo said.
"Whether it's the head and arm choke or whether it's with a D'Arce or even a leg lock, I know I've got a big bag of tricks I could throw at him, and I'm planning on getting him out pretty quick."
ONE Fight Night 31 will be broadcast live on JioHotstar and Star Sports Select 2 at 5:30 a.m. India Standard Time (IST) on Saturday, May 3.
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