BJJ phenom Tye Ruotolo is making his long-awaited return to defend the ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Championship against Dante Leon at ONE Fight Night 31 after suffering what he describes as the biggest injury of his career.
The ONE Championship star spent an unprecedented six months away from the mats—a challenging period that offered unexpected lessons both physically and mentally.
"It was the biggest injury I've had in jiu-jitsu. I've had some torn ligaments before in my knee, but nothing quite to the extent and the amount of damage I did this last time," Ruotolo said.
"It sucks, you know, being couch-locked. It's like there's nothing to do. I was on Fortnite, just gaming and stuff. I had to get out of the house, figure it out, and then start walking. Get back to trusting my knee again."
During the time off, the American embraced his role as coach for his twin brother, Kade. As he made his way back into training, the mental tolls soon turned physical.
The extended recovery period taught Ruotolo valuable lessons, particularly about physical care and nutrition.
"I noticed the more jiu-jitsu I do, the worse my body gets. So it's important to take care of your temple. Jiu-jitsu is not good for your body, quite frankly. It's good for your soul," Ruotolo said.
"I learned that what you eat is super important. I was never super strict on my diet. In fact, I always had a pretty bad relationship with food, just with all the weight cuts."
Most importantly, Ruotolo discovered the power of staying present, and how the present brings him to another stiff defense of the ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Title at ONE Fight Night 31.
"When you have an injury, you're looking in the future and you're worrying about how much time you're gonna be out, and you're worrying about everything in the future that you can't control,” he said. “But what you can control is the day to day.”
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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